Unusual People
by D3T3RM1N3D
Summary: Who knew that being stabbed could change your life for the better? Well, it probably only happens in stories so don't take my word for it.
1. Bleeding Darkness

**Unusual People -Complete-**

 **Author note:**

 **I will be posting a chapter every POV, it isn't completely spell-checked yet so sorry about my embarrassing typos .-.**

 **Also, I'm English and extremely stubborn, so that kinda shows in my writing. (Like how I'll always put Mum instead of Mom and maths instead of math... sorry if I triggered anyone.)**

 **Sans POV**

I walk down the road. It's so late and bound to be dangerous. I should just teleport, but I need to check to see if Grillby has set an opening time for his new bar. I'm proud that he finally set up here on the surface, hell- I'm even proud that he still remembers my tab and e-mails me about it every weekend. I suppose I'm in a sentimental mood. The feeling soon leaves me as a group of teens cross the road in front of me. A couple of the racist jerks give me narrow glances and that's all I'd think of them, except they have blood on their fists. Something shiny catches the moonlight and I spot a knife in the firm grasp of one of them. I'd expect nothing better from humans, they never seem to forget the fact that us monsters are different to them. They pass me by and I glare at the ground. They're probably up to no good. Wait, really Sans? I meant, they're _definitely_ up to no good. No one walks around in the middle of the night with a bloody knife and good intentions. My thoughts are justified when I hear a faint whispering.

"It's ok, I'll be ok."

I peek around the corner and my eye sockets go black as I watch a human girl with a bleeding chest lying on the side of the road talk to a little girl with blonde pigtails.

"Run all the way home and don't come back, ok?"

The little girl nods. Her eyes are puffy, but her expression calm.

"Show your Mother that cut on your hand ok? Tell her that you tripped over, don't mention me." The bleeding girl smiles and squeezes her hand. "You're so brave."

The pigtailed girl beams and runs off. When she's out of sight, the older girl grimaces.

"Damnit..." she whispers.

She leans back and shuts her eyes. Those boys, they stabbed her. I step out beside her without lifting up my eyes and pick her up in my arms. I wouldn't help a human, but this human... she seems different. The way she talked to that little child... I don't quite understand myself. Her grey hoodie is untouched, but a rip through the black shirt underneath reveals the stab wound location. Her jeans, skin, _everything_ is covered in blood. She doesn't open her eyes. I teleport with great exhaustion to the nearest hospital. The room goes silent.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._ She sleeps in the hospital bed while I sit in a chair beside it. I could have easily gone home, but here I am, a mere _-won't be home, i'll explain in the morning-_ left for Papyrus and a stabbed girl's hair in my palms. I didn't even realise I was stroking it. Snap out of it Sans. All humans are dangerous, remember?

 _.Beep._ She quivers.

 _Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep._

I pull my hands away as she gasps and jolts upright.

 _BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP._

I try my best to calm her down.

"Hey, hey," I lower her back down. "Go back to sleep."

"Who-" she starts to mumble.

"Don't worry."

"No," she lowers her eyebrows. "Who are you?"

"I," I stare at the hospital floor. "I, uh, took you here."

"You lifted me off the road?"

I nod. She looks down at the bandages wrapped around her chest and the room turns deafeningly silent.

"Now," I lower my questionably existing eyebrows and speak calmly to her. "I want you to tell me _exactly_ what happened."

She frowns. I can tell that she's not gonna give in that easily.

"Now," I glare.

She sighs and her arms twitch, longing to be folded but pinned back by the hospital equipment.

"The boys were hurting that girl, so I came in between them," she says bluntly.

"What part of 'exactly' didn't you get?"

"What did you want me to say?"

"Start from the beginning," I inquire.

" _Why?"_ She glares stubbornly.

"Don't make me regret saving you."

"Is that a threat?" The edges of her mouth creep upwards.

I smile and wait. She gives in.

"I was walking around at night-"

"Midnight?" I ask.

"Do you want to here the story or not?"

I keep reluctantly silent.

"I saw those racist pricks surrounding that little girl, must've ran out of her house or something, they cut her hand. I ran in between and threatened them, they said they'd seen me around before at night. Called it their territory, the idiots. They said I was-" she pauses. "They stabbed me, then they left. I told the girl to leave. The last thing I remember is being lifted off of the ground."

I grimace.

"You, uh, you sound so casual."

"It's not that unusual," she shrugs.

"You-"

A liquid comes through one of the tubes and she curses under her breath.

"What's your name?" She asks quickly.

"Sans," I grin. "Sans the skeleton."

She nods. Her eyes widen and flicker up at me as the liquid almost reaches her veins.

"You're not gonna- don't-" she sighs. "Please don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere," I half smile.

She falls asleep before I can catch her name. Funny, I never thought I'd be comparing her to Cinderella. I try not to think of how comfortable I'd be if I were warm in my bed. My phone buzzes.

 **FishFace: HEY PUNK! PAPS TOLD ME THAT YOU'RE NOT HOME!**

 **FishFace: I SWEAR IF YOU'RE WORRYING HIM FOR NOTHING I'LL FIND YOU AND KICK YOUR BONY ASTERISK!**

 **PunMaster: whydya put asterisk?**

 **FishFace: CUZ THE AUTHOR IS A PURE SNOWFLAKE!**

 **PunMaster: you better repair that fourth wall.**

 **FishFace: NGAAAAAAH**

 **PunMaster: im alright, did i rattle your bones?**

 **FishFace: YOU'D BETTER BE**

 **FishFace: DON'T THINK THAT WAS FUNNY EITHER.**

I slip my phone back into my pocket. It's gonna be a long night.


	2. Hide and Seek

**Little Girl POV**

I run home to the open door.

"Mummy!" I call.

"Dali!"

Mummy runs out from the garden. Maybe she's playing hide and seek. I like hide and seek.

"Don't ever do that again!" She hugs me.

I hug her back and she takes me inside.

"Look Mummy!" I hold up my hand.

"Oh my- how did you get that?" She gasps.

"I tripped!" I grin and say what the nice girl told me to say.

"Well let's get it cleaned up then shall we?"

I nod.


	3. Badassery

**Sans POV**

I wake up to mystery girl tapping me awake.

"Hm?" I ask. "Oh, how long have I been out?"

"I dunno," she says. "Eight hours? I didn't really wanna wake you, but I think the nurse'll get mad if I stay any longer."

"But you've literally been stabbed!" I point out.

"Well," she shrugs. "Suppose they've got better things to do."

"I get it, you're a badass," I grin. "What time is it?"

"Nine I think," she looks around for a clock.

"Ok," I sit up and grab my phone from my shorts. "Hey, most skeletons don't have the guts to ask for your number, but I'm one of a kind."

"How long did it take you to think of that one," she raises an eyebrow.

"A skele _ton_ of time," I wink.

She smiles and holds out a secured hand for my phone. She passes me her own and I go into her contacts. There aren't that many.

 **PunMaster: you can contact me when you're feeling bonely.**

 **Finch: Why are you texting me?**

 **PunMaster: ive got no BODY to talk to.**

 **Finch: I'm less than a metre away from you genius.**

 **PunMaster: your point?**

 **Finch: You're a dork.**

 **PunMaster: im more of a bonehead.**

She looks up at me unimpressed and I snigger. A nurse walks in and starts un-attaching her from all the machinery. She sits up and kicks the duvet to the side.

"Take it easy," I tell her.

"I know, I know," she sighs. "When do I get out of here?"

The nurse turns around.

"Now if you want, but provided you know how to reapply your bandages and have at least one person living with you. A professional also needs to inspect your living environment."

"What do you mean 'one person living with me?'" She glares.

"Sorry," the nurse says. "But I'm afraid that's the deal."

"How long before I go home without those though?" She asks.

"A week," the nurse says empathetically. "But you still need the professional to check your home out."

She grips her hair with her hands and I watch her chest rising and falling quickly.

"You can stay with me if you want," I tell her.

She looks surprised.

"It's ok, I'd only be a bother."

"No," I imply. "I promise, it's ok."

"Are you sure?" She asks.

I nod.

"Just contact us when or if you return to your living space," the nurse tells her. "It's a legal process we must carry out if you wish to return."

She nods. We stand up and pick up our things.

"Bless the NHS..." she mutters.

I suppose she's not in a place to pay for medication. We leave the building and I notice how hard walking is proving to be for her.

"Stop here," I tell her.

She looks up. My cheekbones heat up as I take a step towards her. She takes a step back.

"Trust me..." I say.

I grip her shoulders and we teleport to my house.

"Holy-" she gasps.

I can't help but chuckle at the adorable noise she makes. Don't go calling me weird or in love with her or anything, it's just funny coming from her. I knock on the door. Undyne answers it. Oh great.

"So you were picking up ladies were you?" She raises her eyebrows.

I glare and feel my cheekbones turning blue.

"Haha, very funny."

We walk in and I take her to the couch.

"Finch, right?" I ask her.

She nods.

"Just gimme a sec to explain," I take Papyrus and Undyne into the kitchen.

"What's your excuse then?" Undyne asks.

"She was stabbed."


	4. Broken Childhood

**Finch POV**

I sit awkwardly in the living room while Sans supposedly explains what happened. I check my phone. Sans listed himself as 'PunMaster,' now my pathetic 'Finch' seems so boring. I text Mum and Dad daily, even though I know that they'll never reply. We were all so happy. We were a little poor, if anything, but we were happy. That's when Mum was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She was generally healthy, aside from smoking a little, but I suppose the world just didn't understand how wonderful she was. I loved her so much. She home-schooled me with reasonable outcome, I always presumed that I'd just take on Dad's business in the radio station. Mum started losing a lot of weight, her bed always moist from sweating. When she died, it broke me. I still suffer from anxiety, self harming, manic depression- I think I'm anorexic, but I can't really afford much food anyway. Dad killed himself the night after, blew his brains out. I was old enough to take over our small little house in front of the forest. I was quickly evicted. Now I live in the old radio tower. It doesn't work, Dad apparently hadn't estimated how old it would be by the time I was old enough to keep it running. It's legally mine, so rent isn't an issue I suppose. It sits in the tree-line of the forest, behind the row of houses. It's extremely tall, a ladder enclosed in the small, metal outlines of a tube in case anyone was to fall backwards. It leads up to a small room with windows, the ladder extends to the roof where all the antennae sit. A desk covers one wall, the one with the strip of window above it, and all the machinery and wires adorn it. All but a single cracked monitor and computer are in order, as well as a radio. I tamper around with the bolts and cables, I grew up without toys and so these were the next best thing. Dad had me pressing buttons and adjusting levers before I could use a knife and fork. The radio channel wasn't very popular, mostly consistent of classics my Dad couldn't get over, but the rare electronic music piece made its way into the mix as I became a teen. Hell, I must've been twelve when I started asking him to incorporate the electronic beats I was into. A keyboard sits on the other side of the desk, it's plugged into the computer and about my only source of income. I make beats and instrumentals on sites like GarbageBand, my Mum taught me to play. She had me reading sheet music, Mozart and Beethoven were my childhood. As I grew up I began to figure out songs that I liked, not just the text book junk. I put them out on a couple music sharing sites, people buy them. Once I even had someone custom request a beat for a song they were making. I was thrilled and put every grain of effort I had into the rock piece he had described. The finished heavy metal piece he produced with it currently has four sales. Playing the keyboard and tampering with music mixing sights made me the way I am now, the messed up side of me probably a result of the death of my family. I never recovered from that day my world stopped turning, therapy is expensive. In the tiny radio station, a mattress lies opposite the desk on the other side of the door. I have an electric cooler and a gas burner. My clothes lie in a pile in the corner, my neighbours let me use their washing machine. They were good friends of my parents and helped me through five years of being an orphan. I lost my parents when I was fourteen, my rebellious teenage phase almost at full power. I asked them for black clothing and as I previously mentioned, started requesting electronic and dark songs for the radio. I could never have the courage to speak over the radio, Dad always did. Him and his smooth, low radio voice. Mum and I often joked about it, trying to imitate it. He was on good terms with just about everyone. We had a free supply of electricity and I still do. I rely on the supermarket for all my consumables, my neighbours for their medical remedies and my legs and the subway for transportation. Mum used to be in an orchestra before she was diagnosed. She taught me how to play the piano, though her primary instrument was the flute. I can barely get a sound out of one, she used to call it magic. They took most of the furniture when they kicked me out of the house, I couldn't keep up the rent. The keyboard was already in the radio station and I had to buy the rest. I scraped together enough money for a smartphone but I still cherish my old MP3 Player. The WiFi signal is good in the radio station, except for when it rains. I have a bucket kicking around for the spring showers, when the roof leaks. I often climb the trees in the forest, the ladder of the radio station isn't nearly as challenging, and bird watching sounds boring but it's not. Magpies are my favourite birds. My Dad liked swallows and my Mum liked finches, the very bird I was named after. It makes my throat cramp and my eyes water whenever I see any in the woods, I reassure myself that my Parents are flying up in the sky with the birds, making beautiful music with their voices. Oh hell my parents could sing. My Dad's voice was low and beautiful, my Mum's was melodious and pure. They sung so beautifully together. My voice isn't half as good. It's lower, more like my Dad's, and has a tendency to break. It works for some more angsty, edgy kind of songs but I'll never be able to replicate the classics my parents used to sing. Now I spend my days alone in the radio tower, playing notes into the computer and putting my work forward on SoundCloud. The radio tower has a microphone, but I don't think my vocals would be any good. If the nurse takes one look at my home, I'll probably never get to see it again. I can't let that happen. I'm worried that they're gonna ask us about what happened, I don't want to turn the pricks who stabbed me in, there's too many of them. Even if they only leave out one guy, he'll come for me. I put my hands in my jean pockets, my phone in one and my pocket knife in the other. I usually only use it on myself, but one day it'll come in handy for combat. I don't start fights, but I know how to fight back and stand my ground if one comes my way. I usually stick to the shadows when I walk around at night, but some encounters are inevitable. I suffer from insomnia, besides, it'd be a waste to not embrace the cool beauty of night. The kitchen door opens, jolting me back to life. Sans, the other skeleton and the fish lady walk towards me.

"This is Finch," Sans introduces me. "She got herself into a situation which was not very knife."

"I SWEAR TO ASGORE SANS," the taller skeleton glares.

Sans is slightly taller than me, the fish lady even taller and the other skeleton towers over me. I read somewhere in the library that monsters are genetically taller than humans, Sans must be short considering the fact that I'm a bit tall for my age.

"I'M PAPYRUS," the skeleton beams and offers me his hand.

I shake it.

"I'm Undyne punk!" The fish lady grins. "Must be a pretty cool scar, right?"

I shrug, smiling at her odd interest in stab wounds.

"Well," she stands up. "Hope to see ya round, I'm gonna head home now."

"THANKS FOR COMING TO READ ME MY BEDTIME STORY!" Papyrus exclaims.

Undyne leaves and Sans puts his feet up on the coffee table.

"Make yourself at bone."

I give him an odd look.

"Home," he explains his pun. "Home, bone, it's a stretch ok?"

I grin and roll my eyes.

"We have a spare mattress," he explains. "But you'll have to sleep in my room."

I nod, I'm in no place to complain.

"Once your wound's healed a little, we should go and clean up your house- ya know, so it passes whatever test the medical people give it."

"That's going to be tricky," I frown.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS," Papyrus declares. "MUST GO TO WORK NOW. I CANNOT BE LATE AND RUIN MY PERFECT REPUTATION FOR NOT BEING LATE."

"But isn't it your first day on the job?" Sans asks.

"YES," he puts a coat on. "AND I'VE NEVER BEEN LATE FOR IT."

He leaves the house and drives off.

"He finally got a job," Sans shrugs. "So many racist employers who wouldn't take him... I'm so glad that he found a good one. He's gonna be working at Starbucks."

I nod, making a mental note to visit him one day.

"How far away do you live?" Sans asks.

"Probably a couple hours," I bite my lip- a nervous habit.

"How do you get around?" He asks.

"I walk to the store, I take the subway everywhere else. My neighbours get me a yearly pass for Christmas."

"They sound nice."

"They are," I think of the old married couple and their grown up children that sometimes visit. I think they have two girls, both twins a few years younger than me, and a boy in his twenties. As far as I remember, one of the girls is a midwife and the boy studied law.

"Probably too much for their own good," I pause. "Like some people who don't think of the consequences to taking random bleeding strangers to hospital."

Sans chuckles.

"I wasn't going to let you die, that would have been _heartless_ of me."

"All that blood must have been gross for you," I grin. "But nothing gets under your skin."

"I almost didn't have the stomach for it."

"You should watch more horror on the skelevision."

"Guess what instrument I play."

"The organ?"

"Nope."

"The xylobone?"

"Nope."

"The saxabone?"

"No, I play the tromBONE."

"That's basically the same premise of my suggestions."

"But I actually play the trombone."

"Really? I play the keyboard."

"I think Undyne can play the keyboard, though she keeps destroying it."

"Why?"

"I dunno, but something smells _fishy."_

I groan at his joke but his laughter is a little contagious.

"We should probably change your bandages," he stands up.

I go with him to the bathroom and he perches on the lid of the toilet. I stand in front of him.

"Ya might have to pull up your shirt," he says sarcastically.

I blush and lift my shirt to expose the bandages below it. I can sense him blushing and I lower my shirt to cover my bra. He removes the bandages and takes some clean ones from a first-aid kit. He wraps it around my torso after rinsing the wound with water. I've learnt to grit my teeth through wounds, my neighbours have their remedies which they collect ingredients from the forest for, but I don't like bothering them. I like to climb... a LOT. Growing up around the radio tower has given me a taste of swinging around like an animal and hopping from the tower to the trees. I run along the rooftops sometimes. I've broken each of my toes at least twice. I drop my shirt and turn around.

"We're gonna have to get you some new clothes," he ponders.

My black shirt is drenched and ripped, my grey hoodie was tied around my waist at the time, so it's just a bit bloody. My jeans are bloodstained too.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"It's nothing," he smiles. "I'll head out to the store and send you photographs. And you," He lifts me up with a blue coloured magic and I squeak in surprise. "Stay on the couch until I come back."

He lifts me through the house and onto the couch.

"But-" I protest.

"Don't worry," he smirks. "I'll keep you entertained."

He salutes me and teleports away. My phone buzzes.

 **PunMaster: the town looks particularly skullerful today.**

 **Finch: Very humerus.**

 **PunMaster: really? i consider myself to be rather sternum.**

 **Finch: Get on with it.**

 **PunMaster: i kid i kid.**

 **-PunMaster has sent an image-**

 **PunMaster: how'dya like this one?**

 **Finch: That's a clothes hanger.**

 **PunMaster: no, bonehead, i mean what's on the clothes hanger.**

 **Finch: There's nothing there.**

 **PunMaster: exactly.**

 **Finch: OH MY**

 **PunMaster: ayyyyyy**

 **Finch: DAMNIT SANS**

 **PunMaster: ok ok**

 **-PunMaster has sent an image-**

 **PunMaster: you like?**

 **Finch: Looks nice.**

It's an image of a black shirt with patches of leather and metal studs. Zips give the illusion of pockets that aren't there.

 **Finch: What size is it?**

 **PunMaster: there's an eight, a ten and a fourteen.**

 **Finch: Do you think a ten's good?**

 **PunMaster: i saw how skinny you are. you're not more than an eight.**

 **Finch: Might want to get a ten just to be sure.**

 **PunMaster: i could see your ribs when i was changing your bandages.**

 **Finch: So?**

 **PunMaster: you're a size eight.**

 **Finch: Are you sure?**

 **PunMaster: what does your shirt say now?**

 **Finch: It's too small for me.**

 **PunMaster: and what does it say?**

 **Finch: Size six.**

 **PunMaster: you're a size eight.**

 **Finch: Fine.**

 **-PunMaster has sent an image-**

 **PunMaster: like the look of these jeans?**

 **Finch: My jeans aren't that ripped.**

 **PunMaster: dont argue.**

 **Finch: You don't have to buy everything in the store you know.**

 **PunMaster: you were stabbed kiddo, i think some new clothes are in order.**

 **Finch: The jeans are nice.**

They're dark blue and non-ripped. I never understood ripped jeans, they let out too much heat.

 **PunMaster: great, now for the hoodie.**

 **Finch: You don't have to get me a hoodie.**

 **-PunMaster has sent an image-**

 **-PunMaster has sent an image-**

 **PunMaster: im not even gonna ask**

 **PunMaster: im getting you these**

 **Finch: You don't have to!**

 **PunMaster: do you like them?**

 **Finch: Well, of course, but-**

 **PunMaster: that settles it.**

The pictures consist of a black hoodie with denim sleeves and a small black turtleneck jumper.

 **Finch: You really don't have to.**

Two minutes pass.

"Yes I do."

I jump and almost tear the stitches in my chest.

"Woah-" he puts his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "Sorry, did I rattle your bones?"

"Don't _do_ that!" I gasp for breath.

"You're gonna have a bone to pick with me now," he winks.

"Damn you," I feel my heart rate. "Numskull."


	5. Ketchup, Just Ketchup

**Sans POV**

I pass Finch the clothes and she picks them up, walking into the bathroom. I check my phone. Undyne's texted me.

 **FishFace: How're you doing with Finch?**

 **PunMaster: just got her some clean clothes, shes putting them on.**

 **FishFace: Oh my gosh! SANS DON'T BE A PERV**

 **PunMaster: no! shes in the bathroom**

 **FishFace: Phew good.**

 **PunMaster: what do you take me for?**

 **FishFace: I dunno. It just seems like something you'd do.**

 **PunMaster: what?!**

 **FishFace: Just don't get yourself arrested.**

 **PunMaster: you think i'll be sent to the pungeon?**

 **PunMaster: you think ill be** _ **pun**_ **ished?**

 **FishFace: Here we go again.**

 **PunMaster: you think they're gonna put me in a rib cage?**

 **FishFace: I'm blocking you.**

 **PunMaster: fair enough.**

The bathroom door creeks open.

"Is it ok?" She asks self consciously.

Woah. She's wearing the turtleneck over her shirt and jeans, I think she's combed her hair somehow as well. It's glossy and black, falling down her back past her shoulders. Her skin is pale ivory in comparison to her hair and her eyes are light, wolffish grey.

"Sans?"

I realise that I was staring and snap myself out of it.

"You look great," I shut my eyes and smile to hide my blush.

She smiles back.

"Wanna see your room?" I ask.

"You mean your room," she grins.

"That too."

I take her to my room and pull a mattress out of the cupboard. I put it down on the floor and grab a spare blanket.

"I mean," I joke, a twinkle in my eye socket. "If you'd prefer to sleep with me in my bed, just ask."

"Haha," she rolls her eyes. "Very funny."

She folds up the spare jacket. I pass her the blanket and she lays it on the mattress.

"Should you be working?" She asks.

"I do some stand up comedy in a few bars," I explain. "That's why I was out so late last night."

"How can you afford to keep your house?" She looks puzzled.

"Asgore gave us a loan," I pause. "Just to get us started. Paps is working now and I was thinking about getting a shift at Grillbys."

"Where's that?"

"It's a bar we used to have down in Snowdin," I perch on the end of my bed. "Grillbz is setting up on the surface, he should be open by now."

"I'll remember that," she nods.

"If you want," I offer. "We could head out now, you must be hungry."

She grins and soon enough, we're entering the warm bar.

"Heya Grillby," I wave.

"Come to pay your tab?" He asks.

"Uh..." I pat my pockets. "Maybe later."

We sit at a table and I enjoy the atmosphere of a room full of monsters. I have to admit, I expected Finch to be nervous around monsters, but she seems in her element. A little curious maybe.

"So," She twiddles her thumbs. "When were you thinking we go sort out my home?"

"A few days, if you feel up to it," I shrug. "How bad is it?"

"Uh..." she blushes. "Only time will tell."

Grillby comes to take our orders.

"I'll have the usual," I say nonchalantly.

"Uh," Finch looks at the menu. "Just some fries please."

Grillby walks away and I spot her sweating.

"Hot restaurant isn't it?" I tease her.

"Shut up," she grins.

It's sorta cute how awkward she is talking to strangers. Eventually, Grillby walks forward with a plate of fries and a bottle of ketchup. Finch looks confused. I open the bottle with my teeth and start to chug it. She almost chokes on her food. I laugh and she wipes her mouth.

"Chalk that up to all the things I wasn't expecting to witness," she says finally.

I laugh so hard I'm worried the ketchup will bleed out of my nose.


	6. Lesser Spotted DorkFinch

**Undyne POV**

"Really?" I grin, turning around to look at Finch. "That's brutal! Did you really say that?"

"Yup," she nods. "He threatened to get his drug dealer involved or something, but if that'll scare me then I deserve to get beat up."

She visited me in the CD store I work part time in and now we're sharing kickass stories.

"Did I ever mention the time I dunked Alphys into a trash can?" I finish putting the disk in its case and step off of the ladder.

"No," she holds it for me. "Sorry, remind me who Alphys is again."

"She's a yellow lizard in a lab coat, and she's my girlfriend!" I beam.

"Oh yeah, I remember her. Really?" She pauses. "Actually that sounds pretty cute."

"You bet it is!"

Alphys told me great things about how nice Finch is from when she visited her lab. I heard from Sans that she was stabbed and she tells me that she's on a mission to meet as many of us as possible in the span of a few days.

"I love that nerd," I hop over to the counter. "She was making a fuss about how she lied to me and how sorry she was like a dork, I mean, I couldn't care less whether she's doing cool science stuff or watching cartoons in her pyjamas. She tried to tell me that anime isn't real, but look around," I indicate to the outside and the odd person inside the store and yell. "THIS IS AS ANIME AS IT GETS!"

A few people jump and mutter quietly. The store is mainly for CDs, but we can fix your phone or MP3 Player if the problem's simple enough. We also sell gift cards for websites like iTunes and SoundCloud. When Finch mentioned that she made some stuff I immediately checked it out. It's actually pretty damn good. I think I'll end up buying some of her sounds. I should introduce her to Mettaton, as much as I hate that punk, or his cousin. Napsta-what's-his-face or whatever. They're even more experienced with music than I am. I just know some songs on the piano and how to find my way around a cheap little CD shop. This angular fish looking monster always visits, she asked me for a piano lesson once. I think I'm too loud for her. Wait, that's ridiculous. SHE'S TOO QUIET TO HANDLE SOMEONE AS AWESOME AS ME. Finch bought a couple CDs, a classic one and an electronic one. I asked to see her scar but she says it isn't dry enough yet. I'll have to chase her up about that one. Frankly, scars are cool as heck.

"I think I should get going," she checks the clock on her phone. "You wanna swap numbers?"

"Sure!"

She hands me her phone and I pass her mine. Sans has himself down as PunMaster, I think that's what he has himself down as too. I have him down as Bonehead. I'm StrongFish in my phone. In hers, Alphys is just Alphys, in my phone she's CuteLizard. I put myself down as BESTFISHFOREVER and pass her back her phone. She's just put down Finch. Hehe, I'll be changing that one.

 **-Name successfully changed-**

 **StrongFish: Hiya punk.**

 **DorkFinch: Hai.**

 **StrongFish: Here we observe the lesser spotted DorkFinch in its natural habitat.**

 **StrongFish: It pokes around the music shop looking for its prey.**

 **StrongFish: It seizes the unsuspecting CDs and makes off with them.**

She laughs and puts her phone in her pocket. I hand her a plastic bag for her purchases and wave as she leaves the store. I like that nerd.


	7. NYEH HEH HEH!

**Papyrus POV**

"GREETINGS HUMAN!" I exclaim as the Finch walks into the coffee shop. "HAVE YOU COME TO ORDER SOME DELICIOUS COFFEE?"

She nods and chuckles.

"WHICH ONE WOULD YOU LIKE?"

"I'm not sure," she walks up to the counter. "I can't really remember what coffee tastes like."

"WORRY NOT MY FRIEND, I- THE GREAT PAPYRUS- WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A RECOMMENDATION SO GREAT THAT YOUR TASTE BUDS WILL SIZZLE WITH JOY! NYEH HEH HEH!"

She can't stop grinning for some reason and looks up at me. She's so tiny compared to the greatness of me.

"What do you recommend?"

"WELL," I pause. "AS A PROFESSIONAL COFFEE DRINKER, I WOULD RECOMMEND THE CARAMEL ONE WITH HOT CHOCOLATE MIXED IN! IF YOU ARE FEELING PARTICULARLY ADVENTUROUS, YOU COULD TRY SOME ADDED FLAVOURING. I LIKE THE PUMPKIN ONE THE BEST."

"Well I'll have that then," she smiles.

"COMING RIGHT UP! NYEH HEH HEH!"

I turn around and set to work. I use my exquisite coffee making skills to conjure up a beverage so great that she'll be entranced by its magic.

"BE CAREFUL, IT'S HOT!" I warn her after creating it.

She takes it and inhales the smell.

"Mmm," she grins. "Smells great."

"I AM GLAD THAT YOU LIKE IT! EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT AS GREAT AS I, THOUGH I AM A SKELETON AND PROBABLY WOULDN'T TASTE VERY NICE."

She giggles and the television screen on the desk announces that there is a mere three days before Mettaton's live premiere.

"OOH!" I exclaim, watching the screen. "METTATON! HE IS MY FAVOURITE PERFORMING ROBOT. I ESPECIALLY LIKE HIS FILM ABOUT A FORBIDDEN ROMANCE BETWEEN A KILLER ROBOT AND A HUMAN. HIS WEEKLY HAND WASHING SHOW WAS ON THIS MORNING, A PITY THAT YOU MISSED IT."

"I've heard of Mettaton," she nods. "I think I've seen a few of his songs. You seem like quite the fanboy..."

"HUMAN," I frown. "WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?"

"From what I've gathered," she grins. "You happen to be quite infatuated with the robot."

My cheekbones go orange and I glare.

"I AM COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS TO WHAT YOU MIGHT BE SUGGESTING."

"If you say so," she takes a sip of her coffee. "Would you like to trade numbers?"

"SURE THING! NYEH HEH HEH!"

I give her my phone and look at hers. I put my name down as THEGREATPAPYRUS- the name I have myself down as- and she asks me a question.

"What do you want my name down as?"

"PUT IT DOWN AS HUMAN2," I request.

"Who's human1?" She asks.

"FRISK OF COURSE," I grin. "THE AMBASSADOR OF MONSTERS. HAVE YOU MET HER YET?"

She shakes her head.

"SHE LIVES WITH TORIEL, WHO LIVES WITH ASGORE, WHO LIVES AT THE TOP OF THE HILL BEHIND THE THEATRE. I AM GLAD THAT THE KING AND THE QUEEN RE-MARRIED, I WAS ALWAYS TOLD HOW CUTE THEY WERE TOGETHER. FRISK IS A MUTE SO YOU MIGHT NEED TO LEARN SOME SIGN LANGUAGE."

"I know how to say hello and where is the bathroom," she chuckles.

"I'M SURE TORIEL WILL TEACH YOU. OR I COULD! WE'RE LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE FOR THE TIME BEING, I APOLOGISE FOR NOT BEING HOME FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. I HAD A SLEEPOVER AT UNDYNE'S! WE MADE SPAGHETTI, I SHOULD SERVE YOU SOME LATER TODAY!"

"That would be great," she beams. "I should get going, I might be able to see Frisk and her parents if I'm quick."

She looks in her pockets and counts up her change. She passes me the money. I look around, a nervous sweat starting to break on my forehead. I slowly pass her back ten pence (monsters found it slightly challenging to correctly convert gold to English currency, but we figured it out) like a cool friend.

"I AM GIVING YOU A DISCOUNT BECAUSE I AM A COOL FRIEND," I whisper.

She giggles and finishes her coffee.

"Thanks so much," she puts the empty cup in the bin. "See you later!"

"GOODBYE HUMAN!"


	8. Pie Fixes All Wounds

**Toriel POV**

"What was that?" I ask Frisk.

She signals to me.

"Oh yes! Finch, you should meet Mettaton, although," I frown. "I don't think he's coming to town for another month, he's at Hollywood with his cousin. You like music, do you not?"

She nods.

"Yeah, I make music online. I can play the keyboard."

"Frisk and I do not know how to play, but Asgore learnt how to play- there used to be a piano in Waterfall. Yes, yes. He plays quite beautifully if I remember correctly. Though that was a long time ago."

Asgore used to play to me before we had children. I was heartbroken when he declared war on humanity and began to take the souls of the humans who fell down into the underground. Finch could have easily been one of the poor children who died, thankfully she was not. Frisk could have died to the hands of Asgore, but that was not the case and instead we all went free. It took me a long time, but I forgave Asgore. Despite all of the terrible things he has done, he tells me honestly that he is sorry. He sent me a bouquet every day as a symbol of remorse and I fell in love with him again soon after we started talking. I adopted Frisk and we're as happy as he and I once were. Of course, life isn't perfect. Many humans cannot accept the existence of monsters in their lives and treat us unfairly. It causes Asgore a great deal of stress, but he's a kind and just leader of the monsters, alongside our ambassador.

"I believe that the butterscotch-cinnamon pie is cool enough," I smile and lift the pie from its cooling rack.

Frisk grins and takes out three plates. Asgore is out at a funeral with Undyne. Gerson was a good friend of his, he lived a good life and died happily on the surface. His dust will be spread on a crabapple tree, as he requested. They were his favourite thing in the world, he'd often go off on tangents about their history and properties. I cut the pie and place a slice onto their plates. Finch looks ever so thin, she could do with some filling up. I cut myself a slice and sit down with them. They tuck in and I can't help but to watch Finch's face as she takes the first bite. It lights up and her eyes seem to glow. I chuckle.

"Wow!" She exclaims. "This is really good!"

"Thank you," I smile. "If you would like, I could send you the recipe."

"I'm not sure if I could afford the ingredients or equipment," she ponders. "But I'd love to have it anyway!"

"What is your phone number my child?" I ask.

She tells me and I put her name down as Finch. I tell her mine and Frisk's. I peak at her phone as she puts our names down as GoatMum and Frisky.

"It'd be a pity to break the chain of funny names in my contacts," she says, becoming slightly flustered.

"I understand," I chuckle. "Just between you and me, Asgore is known as Fluffybuns in my contacts."

The girls start to laugh and I smile with them. Finch is so polite, it's awful to think that she had to experience the pain of being stabbed. I can't help but worry about her. An hour of pleasant conversation passes and she decides that she should probably get back to the skeleton brothers' house so that she can change her bandages. We wave her goodbye and she takes the wobbly journey back down the hill.


	9. Play Me a Song

**Finch POV**

"Wake up lazy bones," Sans grins.

I drag myself up off of the mattress and turn to face him.

"You're calling me the bone-idle one?"

We have a pun battle, which he wins, and I set off to the bathroom to get changed. I sleep in my old, bloody clothing because my normal pyjamas (aka just clothing with the sleeves cut off) are at home. I wash my face and brush my hair, tying it into a plait. I put on my denim sleeved hoodie and the clothes Sans got me. I would get him to wash them, but that would mean a few hours of going around in nothing but underwear and that's a risk I'm not willing to take. I step outside and pick up all my belongings: today is the day we make my house less of a hazard. I bundle up my old clothing and new turtleneck along with my phone and the reason I have to wear long sleeves (my pocket knife) into a plastic bag and look over my shoulder at Sans. He's wearing his blue, fur trimmed hoodie over a cream turtleneck and jeans. They're ripped slightly at the knees, but mostly from times he's fallen over or teleported too high up.

"Ready when you are," he puts his hands in his pockets.

"Ok," I take a deep breath. "Take us to the forest tree line."

He makes an odd face at my strange request but teleports us there nonetheless. I look around and easily spot the sky-scraping radio tower.

"This one," I mutter and begin to climb the ladder.

His mouth opens but he closes it and follows me. The climb is long, but I'm used to it. I open the creaky door and we step inside. My mattress lies unmade to our right while the left is a mess of monitors, levers, buttons, keyboards and speakers. My clothes are in a pile at the end of my bed and my electric cooler and gas burner sit empty in front of us. The floor is dusty and it creeks in a few places. There are cobwebs here and there and a medical kit hangs up on the wall.

"It's, uh," Sans thinks. "It's got character?"

I blush and set to making my bed. I fold up my clothes and put them neatly in the corner, straight my blanket and ask Sans to tackle the cobwebs. He uses magic to take them down while I untangle the cables by the machinery. Soon enough, the wires are neatly arranged at the side, my monitor is dusted and it's keyboard is cleaned. My headphones sit plugged in to the old computer, which is positioned to the right of the monitor, my radio and MP3 Player on top of it. Sans cleaned the keys of my electric keyboard which is plastered with my fingerprints on all the notes. I screwed the bolts on my old wheely chair tighter with my pocket knife and cleared the space underneath the desk, so that I can manoeuvre the chair from my computer space to my piano space. I organised the pile of dusty books under the desk, adding my new CDs and holding in memories of pouring over the classic novels with my Mum.

"I don't have the guts to live in a place like this," Sans jokes.

"Why not?"

"It's like, half a freaking mile in the air!" He points out.

"You're exaggerating," I smirk.

He takes a seat on my mattress.

"So are you gonna play the piano or not?"

"What?"

"I wanna hear you play," he asks, his eyes suddenly big and watery.

"How'd you-" I look curiously at his puppy dog eyes.

He begins to tremble.

"Nononononononononono!" I put my hands out in front of me. "Ok! I'll play."

His eyes go back to normal and he grins triumphantly. I begin to play a song. It has vocals, but there's no way I'm singing. It's quite a modern song, but it sounds classic, the kind of song Mum would like.

"Hey I recognise that one!" He exclaims. "It's called, uh... Lost Boy! Right?"

I nod.

"You gonna sing along?" I tease him.

"Haha," he frowns. "Very funny."

I finish the song, hoping he doesn't notice the parts where I messed up a little.

"And I thought Undyne was good on the piano," he grins.

"Don't you dare make this awkward," I glare.

My chest feels gross and sweaty.

"I need to change my bandages," I frown. "But I kinda wanna stay up here for longer."

"We can do it here," Sans shrugs.

He flicks his hand and the first aid kit comes towards it. He picks up my last set of bandages, I make a mental note to replace the ones in there, and says bluntly

"Now strip."

I blush, he's only teasing me but it's working. I peel my shirt up to reveal the bandage. Sans begins to untie it. I flinch at the feeling of his bony fingers touching my skin, blushing harder. Damnit Finch.

"I may not be a spider," he observes. "But I appear to be _bugging_ you."

I chuckle, trying to keep still so that he can apply the bandage. Instead, he gets out the camera of his phone.

"Hey!" I glare.

"It's ok," he lowers his finally acceptedly existing eyebrows. "It's just for Undyne, she wants to see the scar."

"Oh," my ears burn. "Right."


	10. Ketchup and Astrophysics

**Sans POV**

"Now you're the one making it awkward!" I laugh.

She smirks and plugs her headphones back into the computer, taking them off and putting them down. Aww, she's blushing. I grin and ruffle her hair. She lets out a hiss and jumps.

"Calm down there," I tease her.

She glares, but I can tell her mouth is aching to smile. My phone gives a buzz.

 **FishFace: Are you over with Finch?**

 **PunMaster: yup.**

 **FishFace: Oooooooh ;)**

 **PunMaster: no, no and no.**

 **FishFace: You know, I've been thinking.**

 **PunMaster: really? i didnt think you were capable of such a thing.**

 **FishFace: SHUT UP PUNK.**

 **FishFace: And I realised.**

 **FishFace: YOU TWO WOULD MAKE THE PERFECT COUPLE.**

 **PunMaster: why?**

 **FishFace: ...**

 **FishFace: I dunno. BUT YOU WOULD.**

 **PunMaster: what do you think this is? some cringey fanfic written by a lazy thirteen year old?**

 **FishFace: How specific.**

 **PunMaster: hey, do you think we should make a group chat?**

 **FishFace: I see you changing the subject.**

 **PunMaster: i didn't do that in maths equations.**

 **FishFace: That barely even qualifies as a pun.**

 **PunMaster: so?**

 **FishFace: Whatever punk, you two dweebs get back to your, ahem, BUSINESS. I'm gonna visit Alphys.**

 **PunMaster: keep it PG.**

 **FishFace: I'll try.**

"Who are you talking to?" Finch asks.

"Just Undyne," I shrug. "Do you think this'll pass whatever test the nurses give it?"

"Maybe," she avoids my eyes. "But, uh... I think I have to wait a bit longer for the wound to heal."

"You just want to stay with Paps and I," I grin. "Go on, admit it."

She rolls her eyes, smiling slightly, and stands up.

"We should head back."

She picks up some of her clothes, her MP3 Player and headphones before turning to me.

"You gonna teleport us?"

I nod and step forward. Instinctively, she crouches slightly, ready to run away.

"My bad..." she mutters. "It's just- I'm used to getting the hell out of wherever I am when someone approaches me."

"Except for that one time where you were stabbed," I point out.

She purses her lips with no answer and I teleport us home. It's tiring enough to do it once a day, twice sort of leaves me exhausted.

"Do you want me to grab some ketchup out of the fridge? I-" she notices how winded I am. "Aaand you're going straight to bed."

She grabs the sleeve of my hoodie and climbs the stairs.

"I'm-" I huff. "I'm ok, I think."

"Don't try that with me," she rolls her eyes.

"I mean," I grin. "I'm not complaining or anything, it's just that ketchup seems promising right now."

"I'll get it," she shrugs.

She practically shoves me into my room and I slip under the covers of my bed. She leaves the room and comes back gripping a bottle of ketchup and a astrophysics book. She passes them to me.

"I saw you reading it the other day," she scratched her neck awkwardly. "I mean, do you want it?"

I nod.

"Thanks, you know it's not every day that someone actually wants me to be drinking ketchup in bed."

She chuckles.

"There's a first time for everything," she folds up her clothes, putting them on her mattress, and looks at her phone. "Hm, what do you know, Alphys just invited round to watch some anime."

"Remember that it's on the _right_ of the hill Asgore, Tori and Frisk live on," I lower my **(author sighs)** eyebrows. "Not the left."

"I know, I know," she rolls her eyes.

I wonder if they ever get tired from all that movement.

"I won't get lost this time."

"I can't be bothered to find you again tibia honest," I wink.

"I'm out."

And with that, she walks out of the room. I smirk and open my ketchup bottle with my teeth. I find the page of the book I last folded down and begin to read.

' _Infrared observations are usually made with telescopes similar to the familiar optical telescopes. Objects colder than stars (such as planets) are normally studied at infrared frequencies.'_


	11. Mew Mew Kissy Cutie

**Alphys POV**

"Which popcorn do you think she prefers?" I ask Undyne.

"I dunno," she walks over. "I have a solution."

She whips out another bowl and pours a heaping portion of salted popcorn into one and an equally large stack of sweet popcorn into the other.

"I hope her favourite popcorn isn't toffee..." I mumble.

I walk over to the DVD player and pick up the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie case and fumble to open it. Darn... these... stupid... claws...

"Having trouble babe?" Undyne asks.

"I'm just-" I frown at the case. "My hands are-"

She picks the case up and says

"Well I know a way of opening cases which ALWAYS works!"

She pulls out her spear.

"Undyne!" I cry. "Stop!"

She stops just before the tip of her spear has penetrated the poor box.

"Ok," she blushes. "Maybe we won't use the spear..."

She opens it with her hands and passes the disk to me. I put it in the DVD player and pause the film. The microwave bleeps from the other room.

"I'll get it!" Undyne pulls out her spear.

"Your spear isn't the answer to _everything_ ," I grin shyly.

"Of course it is!" She picks me up with ease and swings me around in the air. "It's almost as perfect as a certain adorable, nerdy lizard I know."

I squeak with delight as she swoops me around, my dress (which I save specifically for dorky nights eating popcorn and watching anime) swirls around my stubby little feet. Undyne really makes me feel like a princess. I'm not quite sure how she does it, but she succeeds anyway. I wish I was as cool and strong and talented as her. There's a knock on the door, making us both jump, and Undyne puts me down gently to open it. She looks really cute in her leather jacket and jeans. I could never pull off something like that.

"Hiya punk!" She exclaims as Finch stands shyly in front of the door.

"Hey!" She replies in her small, edgy voice.

"Neat jacket!" Undyne grins at Finch's denim-sleeved hoodie.

She wore a turtleneck when I first met her, whenever I wear turtlenecks, I always end up looking like I'm being born all over again.

"Thanks," she grins.

She walks in and I shuffle to the end of the couch. Undyne grabs the popcorn and walks in.

"How are we all going to fit?" Finch curiously points out a factor which I hadn't considered.

"Simple!" Undyne exclaims.

She walks over to me, lifts me up and puts me on her lap. Finch sits down next to us and I flush, beaming. I grab the remote and un-pause the television.

"It's called Mew Mew Kissy Cutie," I explain. "It's my favourite anime!"

"Want some popcorn babe?" Undyne asks.

I nod and she picks up some sweet popcorn- which she knows to be my favourite- and holds it out for me. I eat it from her fingers and blush when I spot Finch staring.

"Sorry," she grins. "I just never imagined how cute you'd be together!"

"Says you," Undyne raises her eyebrows. "So how's Bone Boy doing?"

"It's not like that," she flushes, her cheeks going red. "We're just friends."

"With benefits," Undyne adds.

" _Friends."_

"Shh!" I shush them as the first bit of narration begins.

The anime is great, obviously (I mean it _is_ Mew Mew Kissy Cutie after all) and apparently, Finch has NEVER tried popcorn before now! The salted flavour is her favourite, I know Undyne prefers the salted flavour- sea salt if possible- though her favourite bit is to crunch on those half popped popcorn bits at the bottom of the bowls. The story of MMKC is great and Finch enjoyed it, she especially seemed to appreciate the music. It sounds electronic-ish and reminds me of marimbas, but Finch says that it was played in on a keyboard.

"I think there's probably a Mew Mew CD back in the shop," Undyne ponders. "There's a sale where you get online music purchasing website songs seventy five percent off if you've bought the CD."

"I think I can just scan it into my computer and transfer it," Finch squints. "But that sounds great!"

My phone buzzes and a weeaboo ringtone begins to play. I pick it up and look at my texts.

 **Mettaton: WHICH TOWN IS YOUR ONE AGAIN DARLING?**

 **Alphys: Ulkmena, why?**

 **Mettaton: THE LIVE SHOW'S BEEN EXPEDITED. SEE YOU IN ABOUT A WEEK DARLING!**

 **Alphys: That's great!**

"Mettaton's show's been moved forward!" I explain excitedly. "He's coming to town soon!"

"I appreciate his lifestyle," Undyne shrugs. "But he gets on my nerves. It'll be nice for Finch to meet him though."

"I think Papyrus is pretty eager to meet him," Finch grins.

"Is he now?" Undyne looks up, a mischievous glint in her eye.

She takes out her phone to I suppose tease Papyrus.

"You trying to point the limelight away from you and a certain skeleton?" I smirk.

"No!" She stutters. "I've told you two a billion times, there's nothing you don't know about going on between us. Besides, the real limelight is on you two."

"True," Undyne laughs. "True."


	12. Battle of Passion

**Papyrus POV**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: I AM** _ **NOT**_ ' **INFATUATED' WITH METTATON!**

 **THESTRONGFISH: You so are! Even Finch thinks so!**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: OH NO! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS RUNNING OUT OF ALLIANCES IN THIS BATTLE OF TSUNDEREISM!**

 **THESTRONGFISH: I WILL WIN AS YOU FINALLY PROCLAIM YOUR UNDYING LOVE FOR METTATON!**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: NO! I WILL NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN!**

 **THESTRONGFISH: Well I made a bet with Alphys a while back that you had a crush on someone, TWO POUNDS AND 7.2533 GOLD ARE AT STAKE HERE!**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: NYEH HEH HEH HEH! TAKE MY SOUL NEVER!**

"Uh..." Sans looks over my shoulder. "You got a bone to pick with someone?"

"SANS!" I glare. "WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!"

"Since when did Undyne declare war on you to get you to confess your undying love for Mettaton?"

"WELL SHE ALWAYS HAD A NAGGING SUSPICION..." I ponder. "BUT SHE DECLARED WAR ON ME THIS EVENING. SANS, TELL ME YOU'RE ON MY SIDE IN THIS BATTLE, NYEH?"

"Nyeh," he nods.

"GOOD," I beam. "BESIDES, WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE THE GREAT PAPYRUS?"

"No one in their right mind," he smiles. "What about me? Don't you think I'm rather... SANSATIONAL?"

"SANS!" I glare. "WHY MUST YOU TELL SUCH AWFUL JOKES?"

"What?" He grins. "You mean that they fill you with awe? Thanks buddy!"

"DAMNIT SANS!"

My phone starts playing one of my new, extremely impressive mixtapes and I pick it up, humming along.

" _NYEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEHEHEHEHE NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH..."_ I mutter the lyrics under my breath.

 **Human2: Did you hear that Mettaton's live show's been brought forward?**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: WOWIE! I DID NOT KNOW THIS! THANKS FOR YOUR INTELLIGENCE AND OVERALL GREATNESS, THOUGH NOT AS GREAT AS ME.**

 **Human2: Aw thanks! He should be here in a week or so.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: I WILL BE SURE TO FIND THIS DATE AND REMEMBER IT!**

"You know," Sans says. "You do seem kinda obsessed with Mettaton."

"OH NO!" I cry. "DO NOT TURN AGAINST ME DEAR BROTHER!"

"I'm not," I spot a hint of over-protective older brother syndrome in his eye-sockets. "I was just wondering... how much _do_ you like Mettaton?"

"ERR..." my cheekbones glow orange. "WELL, I MEAN, HE'S A GOOD ACTOR, CHEF, NEWS REPORTER, GAME SHOW HOST AND HE POSSESSES MANY OTHER TALENTS WHICH ADD TO HIS GREATNESS FACTOR..."

"What do you mean by _greatness factor_?"

"UH, HOW GREAT ARE YOU FROM A SCALE OF JERRY TO PAPYRUS."

"How would you rate him?" He raises his **(here we go again...)** still apparently existing eyebrows and puts his hands on his hipbones.

"MAYBE JUST ABOVE AN UNDYNE?"

"Hm..." he ponders. "You sure you don't have any... _special_ feelings about Metta?"

"NOT THAT I KNOW OF..." I start to sweat.

"You're sweating," he points out.

"UH! IT'S HOT IN HERE!"

"You don't have skin," he shrugs. "And besides, skeletons only sweat in cringey fanfictions written by authors who might need help paying off that bill to fix the fourth wall."

"SANS!" I scold him. "QUIT MAKING PUNS THROUGH TIME AND SPACE."

"Sorry, did-"

"NO."

"I-"

"SANS NO."

" _Space_ out?"

I jump out of the window and sprint all the way to Asgore, Human1 and Asgore's clone's house- the only people who are still on my side in this battle of passion.

"Papyrus!" Asgore's clone exclaims. "What a pleasant surprise, would you like some-"

"SAVE YOURSELVES!" I yell and run into the house.

Frisk grins at me and hops over.

"HUMAN!" I declare. "YOU MUST FIGHT WITH ME AGAINST THE WICKED FIENDS THAT ARE OUR FRIENDS."

By the time evening comes, Frisk and I are sitting, planning a strategic battle technique on a piece of paper.

"SO WE WILL USE THE EARMUFFS TO BLOCK OUT THE CODE SANS'S DEADLY PUNS," I explain. "THEN WE WILL PROCEED TO PACK OUR FACE MASKS WITH ICE-CUBES FOR MINIMAL BLUSHING, GOT IT?"

Frisk nods and Asgore's clone walks over.

"I'm ever so sorry, but it's getting late and Frisk needs to finish her homework. I'm sure your brother would be worried if you are late home."

"I SEE," I stand up. "GOODBYE TINY HUMAN! GOODBYE ASGORE CLONE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL ALWAYS BE ON YOUR SIDE OF THIS BATTLE!"

I jump out of the open window and go wee wee wee wee wee wee wee all the way home like a little piggy. My brother is asleep in his room. Finch is standing in the kitchen.

"HUMAN!" I declare.

She jumps and turns around. Her face is pale. I pause.

"ARE YOU OK? YOU LOOK ILL."

"I-" she screws her eyelids shut and smiles. "I'm fine, how are you?"

"I AM DOING GREAT AS A MATTER OF FACT! NYEH HEH HEH! I WAS JUST OUT MAKING STRATEGY PLANS AS TO HOW TO WIN THIS WAR OF TSUNDERES AND DENIAL!"

"Sounds... uh, interesting!"

She's avoiding my eyes and her hands are shaking.

"HUMAN, ARE YOU QUITE SURE YOU ARE WELL?"

"Really," she swallows. "I'm ok. I think some of your breakfast pasta in the morning should do the trick."

"NYEH HEH HEH!" I beam. "I THINK SO TOO! I WAS WONDERING, DUE TO MY LAZY BROTHER BEING ASLEEP- AS ALWAYS- IF YOU COULD READ ME MY BEDTIME STORY!"

"Sure!" Her smile doesn't reach her eyes. "Just give me a minute, I'll meet you up there!"

I bound up the stairs and lie in my bed, ready to be tucked in. The human must be tired, she can sleep right after my bedtime story!

Nyeh heh heh! Everything works out with the Great Papyrus!


	13. Smile Through The Anxiety

**Finch POV**

"Hey punk," Undyne says seriously.

I look up from the CD back I was reading and she walks through the shop to the corner I sit in.

"Sans just told me, the police messaged him, wanted to know how you got that stab wound."

"W-what?" I stutter.

"They want you to come to the station, they'll interview you." She sighs. "I knew the hospital would finally put two and two together, stab wounds are very easy to identify."

"But if I tell them who it was," I sweat anxiously. "The rest of the gang will find me. There are so many of them and they're all as bloodthirsty as each other."

"And you can't handle them?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Well," I smile. "Not if they come all at once." My smile fades. "Or if they have guns. Damnit... I hate guns."

"Why?" She asks. "I mean, I suppose they're pretty bad 'cus well... they're guns."

"No," I blush. "It's just- my Dad- he..."

"Oh," Undyne's face goes dark. "I'm so sorry."

"Let's just focus on the issue at hand," I breathe.

"Right," she thinks everything through. "So, you agree to go to this meeting, you tell them what happened but not who did it. You explain why you can't tell them and they'll know what to do from there."

"Are you sure?"

"It's the best plan we've got."

My stomach flips over with nerves.

"When do they want me?"

"Four days from now," she looks into my eyes. "And you might need to get your house checked with the nurse place before then, that'll give you an opportunity to figure out what to say."

"I can't do it alone," I shut my eyelids. "Oh crap oh crap oh crap. Urgh, I'm gonna screw everything up."

"If you think like that you will," she puts her hands on her hips. "If you want someone to help you with the anxiety, get Alphys to go with you. She's so smart and she goes through a lot of the problems you have, so I think she's your best bet."

"Thanks," I smile grimly. "I'll find her now."

"I'll tell Sans that you're up for the interview."

"Great."

I leave the store. It's pretty dark out here. I ought to be careful if I don't want another run-in with that gang. I walk quickly to the subway and wait patiently on the bench for the next ride. An uneasy atmosphere fills the room, solitude is something of a treat nowadays, but sitting on my own in the dark here with the sound of occasional footsteps is enough to make me keep a better grip on my belongings. I'll be lucky if I make it to Alphys's lab with all my limbs. I get on the ride and sit down near the door. An old married couple sits diagonally opposite from me, but apart from that, we're alone. I check my phone. The weather is pretty rubbish as of recently, all these Summer Showers. I twiddle my thumbs in mind numbing silence for about an hour before we reach my stop. The married couple stopped off early to go to heaven knows where and I step off. I find myself jogging to Alphys's lab, partly to get out of the cold, partly to get out of the dark. I'm not afraid of the dark, all my parents lectures about the harmlessness of the light's absence would go to waste if I was, but at this kind of night, you can't help but be wary of the dangers lurking around the streets. I get to the lab and knock pathetically on the door. Alphys opens it in her pyjamas and indicates for me to come in. I do and try my best to explain my situation. To my extreme relief, she agrees to come along with me during both the nurse test and the interview.

"Well it's far too late to take the subway back," she looks at her watch. "But you can sleep over if you want! I have spare blankets if you don't mind sleeping on the couch."

"Really?" I ask, too tired to be polite. "Thanks!"

She finds some spare blankets and hoovers the couch with a small, plugin hoover while I wash my face in the bathroom. I look in the mirror. The negative voices in my mind slur insults that I didn't used to believe at my face. ' _Disappointment. Failure. Ugly. Undesirable. Unforgivable. Broken.'_

I glare at the mirror and walk away. Alphys has set up the couch and I slip my socks and jacket off before climbing in.

"'Night," I mutter.

"Goodnight," she smiles softly.


	14. Breathe In, Breathe Out

**Alphys POV**

"Psst!" I whisper urgently at Finch. "We have to get your house checked out today!"

"Urgh," she groans. "Five more minutes..."

"I'm sorry," I begin to ease the covers away. "But I won't let you go to the test feeling anxious and drowsy, I- of all people- know how that can really mess your day up."

She pauses, and then reluctantly picks herself up out of bed. I'm already dressed in my clothes, breakfast still sending encouragement swirling through my stomach.

"You have a shower," I tell her. "And I'll get you some clean clothes."

"From where?" She asks.

"The shops."

"I'll pay for half of it," she declares.

"Finch," I smile. "You're very kind, but-"

She stuffs her hand in her pockets and puts ten pounds, or 36.2665 gold **(** **I actually just studied conversion rates in maths and I actually put the joking numbers I wrote earlier in the story into a calculator and figured out the conversion rate. According to my joke earlier on, one pound is equal to 3.62665 gold... you're welcome)** into my hand. She walks into the bathroom and locks the door before I can argue. I smile to myself. She's too kind for her own good. I walk into town towards the clothes shop. It's full of tank tops and dresses and all that rubbish. I really don't want to come home empty handed. I'm looking for something formal for her to wear, but I don't want to put her in a dress or anything girly. I'm about to give up when I spot an old jewellery shop down an alleyway. It appears to be selling old, handcrafted jewellery with gemstones from around the world, all ordered in by what appears to be a family-run business. I can spot not only jewellery from the windows, but the odd item of clothing. A pair of fishnet gloves, some gothic boots, black trousers with a pocket watch chain visible from the side, but most importantly, a steampunk looking waistcoat with brown, leather belts covering the chest, no sleeves with rips at the end of the fabric where they would have attached, white material reaching above the belts around the bust, a white fabric slightly creamier than that material acting as an open jacket around it, the same part as the rips for sleeves. **(Sorry if I did a rubbish job explaining that.)** I step inside the shop and immediately ask the lady at the counter how much it costs.

"That?" She asks. "It's been here for months, no one really wants it. It was forty pounds, but I'll tell you what, for you I'll bring it down to twenty."

"Really?" I'm shocked.

"Yup," she smiles. "Just for you."

"Thanks!"

I take a last poke around the shop for accessories and end up buying some black leather gloves, the gothic boots and a pocket watch on a necklace chain. It ends up costing me about forty pounds due to the heavy discounting of the lady at the counter. I make my way home but stop when I realise something. Maybe instead of giving her the clothes now, I should wait until the police interview. Sans will be there for the afterparty, that'll be the perfect chance to get them together. Yes! It's a foolproof plan! I just have to make it so that he can't keep his eyes off of her, he was the one who suggested that we all go out for dinner to release the tension of the night afterwards! I'll message Undyne right now!

 **Alphys: Undyne! I just thought of the perfect way to get Bone Boy together with the Finch!**

 **HotTuna: Really? Tell me!**

 **Alphys: So, you know how Sans** **is gonna be at the afterparty?**

 **HotTuna: NGAAAAAH! JUST GET ON WITH IT!**

 **Alphys: I just bought some stuff, so maybe, if we can get Finch looking cute enough, she might just find herself being chased by a certain skeleton!**

 **HotTuna: IT'S PERFECT!**

 **Alphys: SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

 **HotTuna: SQEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

I open the door with my hip and put the clothes in the corner of my room, out of sight. Finch is using the hairdryer, by the sound of it, so I look through her clothes to pick out something for her to wear. I need something that screams ordinary, or shy, just anything but 'I'm extremely shifty and I keep getting stabbed by random strangers.' I end up choosing a black and white striped shirt- she doesn't have any short-sleeved ones- and a pair of grey shorts with some black tights from my wardrobe that I thought would go nicely with them. I throw her turtleneck onto the top and hear the sound of the hairdryer stopping. She walks upstairs and stands in the doorway wearing only a pair of black underwear. Her skin is ivory white and you can see her ribs poking out just above the bandages. She has scabs and the odd bruise dotted around her body and the reapplied bandages cover a strip of her chest. Her black hair sits on her shoulders, doing a good job at hiding her chest where the underwear doesn't. Her arms are pressed firmly behind her back. She blushes.

"I forgot to grab my clothes on the way out."

"That's ok!" I grin. "I've decided to save your outfit for the interview, but in the meantime, I picked out some stuff for you to wear!"

"Thanks," she smiles shyly and takes them from my hands hastily before leaving back to the bathroom. When she returns wearing the outfit, I'm relieved to see that the reclusive appearance of her leaves her looking shy and innocent as opposed to dodgy and misleading. She brushes her hair into a plait. I don't think I've ever seen it down before, it looks beautiful. I'll remember to leave it down when we prepare her for the interview. She leaves enough of it down so that she can hide her face behind it. She puts on some of her socks and a pair of old, worn shoes. I check my outfit in the mirror, as always, my lab coat on top of my pyjamas which just about pass as casual clothes at a glance makes me appear ordinary at most. Undyne begs to differ, but that's about the only thing I don't agree with her about.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

We walk out of the door and towards my car. She doesn't have a car, so she's ever so careful when sitting down in the passenger seat: afraid to break everything she touches. I reverse out of my driveway and begin the journey to the hospital. It isn't very far away, from a straight line, but the way which the marketplace is structured means that I have to drive further than if I were going directly from my house to the hospital. It doesn't matter too much, it just gives Finch and I a chance to have a good laugh as we yell along with the songs on the radio. Her voice isn't as bad as she thinks it is, she tells me that mine would be perfect for an anime without even realising the full extent of how happy her compliment leaves me. I park in the last space and spot her hands shaking.

"Breathe," I remind her. "Be yourself."

She nods and opens the car door. We approach the reception, I give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Uh, hi!" I say when we get to the front of the reception desk queue. "We're here for, uh, a test on her living environment, or something like that..."

"I see," a man at the desk starts typing. "Finch? Treated a week ago?"

"That's me," she mumbles.

"Ok," he sends an email to the doctor. "If you'd like to take a seat in the waiting room please."

We do as we're told and try playing I-Spy but the plain white waiting room is too boring so we adapt it.

"I don't spy with my little eye," she pauses. "Something beginning with S."

"Sea?"

"Nope."

"Street?"

"No."

"Ooh! Is it Sans?"

"No."

"Aw. Uh, sky?"

"Getting closer."

"Sun?"

"Closer still."

"Sun... sun..." I wrack my brain. "Star! Is it star?"

She nods.

"Sans is interested in astronomy and things like that," I lean back in my chair.

"Why do you always bring it back to Sans?" She chuckles. "I told you, we're not a couple."

"Don't speak to soon," I wink.

We grin and snigger but freeze up when a doctor calls.

"Miss Finch Valkyrie?"

She swallows and we stand up. We follow the man to a couple of nurses with clipboards. One of them looks like an English teacher- dull clothing with a colourful scarf- and the other reminds me of Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter.

"Hello," the second one smiles a blatantly fake smile. "As you have already been informed, we will be visiting your living space to decide whether or not it is a safe place for your to recover in, even if your injury heals before you go back there."

"We must reassure you," the English teacher-esque one says. "That everything we see is confidential, unless we discover something which could prove as a threat to your life. We cannot take away your home, ultimately if you want to go back to it then we are powerless to stop you. However, if you decide to do this after a possible threat has been identified, it may affect insurance or legal matters if you are harmed by it as it is out of our control."

"Ok..." Finch mutters.

"And where do you live?"

She gulps.

"I live in a radio station, the one at the bottom of Welthorne road."

"I see," they scribble down on their paper. "Do come outside with us."

We follow them to their car, complete with images and phone numbers advertising the hospital. We sit in the back seats as the English teacher taps the SatNav while the other one starts the engine.

"My name is Wendy by the way," she says, driving slowly forwards. "This is Mandy."

Finch and I share a glance at their strangely similar names. We play Rock Paper Scissors for a solid twenty minutes and watch the windows for another fifty. Playing 'I don't spy' back in that waiting room never sounded so good. We're tired and a little carsick by the time they pull up in Welthorne road. We all get out of the car and Finch walks towards the radio tower, a flush reaching her ears. She begins to climb the long ladder, her elbows quivering anxiously at the sound of the nurses scribbling down notes on their clipboards. When Finch said she lives in a radio tower, I wasn't really expecting this. It's so tall! The ladder is supported only by the lining of a metal tube and the small room which she manages to get by in sits at the top. My stubby legs shake as I look down. Come on Alph... come on... be like Undyne. I look up and immediately gag at the view up Wendy's skirt. We all cram into the small room and Finch awkwardly explains how she gets by. She talks about the gas burner and how she buys her produce from the store that day and keeps it in the mini fridge. She explains how she receives income from the music she makes on the computer and how the station is legally hers. She demonstrates how to put material in front of the windows to block out the draughts. The women scribble and scribble.

"Thank you," Mandy says after an hour. "We just need a moment to compare our analysis."

Finch indicates for me to follow her and I do. We sit on the metal around the station, our legs dangling over the deadly drop.

"I bet I messed everything up," she puts her head in her hands.

"Don't say that!" I tell her. "You did great!"

She doesn't have anything to say in response and instead stares down at the fall below us. I hope she isn't thinking about what it would be like to jump. I know from experience that those sort of thoughts tend to cross your mind when you're in the dark like she is, but in this situation, they can be dangerous. About ten minutes pass before the nurses call us back inside. Mandy looks calm and collected whereas Wendy looks sour as a bag of limes.

"We have come to the conclusion that despite the fact that your house probably wouldn't be safe at all for most people," Mandy explains. "As long as it is you and only you, you may continue to live in it. We believe that you know how to get by in this sort of condition, so given that you don't plan to move someone inexperienced in with you, this house should be fine for the foreseeable future."

I let out a breath I didn't realise that I was holding in and I hear Finch sigh in relief as well.

"I suppose you two want a lift back to the hospital?" Wendy asks, I suppose she didn't get her way when it came to judging Finch's house.

We nod and climb down the ladder. Finch waits at the bottom for everyone and the long car journey home drones on like a stuck record. By the time we get back to my place, we're absolutely knackered. I make each of us a hot chocolate and a bowl of instant noodles. We watch anime in our pyjamas for the rest of the day.


	15. Just Get Through It

**Finch POV**

"Oh help..." I mutter as Alphys's car pulls up in the parking lot of the police station.

The building reeks of grey and what little trees are dotted around don't move along with the wind. I was expecting there to be bars in the windows, but there aren't any in sight. The bricks are painted over with white, but grime and powder mixed together leaves them a sort of light grey. A barbed wire fence surrounds the place.

"Yikes," Alphys wrinkles her nose. "Well, you're the bravest person I know," she goes on. "Architecture is _not_ going to intimidate you."

"Thanks," I grimace.

We step out of the car and walk towards the main reception. I find myself leaning subconsciously away from it. I scowl and plough on into the building. It's equally grey on the inside. Dull posters advertising safety litter the walls and the front desk sits grandly in front of the doors.

"Miss Valkyrie?" A lady with glasses pushed so far down her nose that they cloud up as she breathes out.

I nod.

"And?"

"This is my friend," I say bluntly.

"Is she coming with you?"

"I don't see why not."

My voice is cold and unwelcoming. The lady sniffs.

"Have you signed the consent form?"

I shake my head and take up the pen she gives me. Alphys is made to sign next to mine.

"You will have to wait for a minute or two," she indicates to a group of seats. "We're running a bit late."

I sit with Alphys at one of the plastic fold-up chairs. A man sitting next to us pulls a sour face. I ponder about what could be bothering him. Alphys gives my hand a squeeze. The man looks horrified, it hits me.

 _That little racist prick._

The wolf in me wants to break loose and rip him to tiny, sour shreds but I resist. Just hold on Finch... hold on...

"Miss Valkyrie," a man calls.

Alphys and I stand up and take slow steps that echo along the marble floor towards the bleak room he stands before. It's covered in filing cabinets, fans and fake plants.

"Please do sit down," he takes a seat on one side of the small desk and I sit at the other.

Alphys stands behind him so I can see her.

"According to these documents," he straightens a pile of paper. "You have acquired a suspiciously stab-like wound and I would like you to explain to me honestly how you got it."

"I-" My voice stops working, I gulp and force it onwards. "I approached a gang of teens in the street."

"Why did you do that?"

"They were hurting a little girl."

"I see... please continue."

"I put myself in between them and they stabbed me."

"What did they say to you?"

"They just insulted me a bit," I look down. "They said they recognised me from around the streets and they called me- they, uh, they hurt me a bit."

"Do you happen to know the names of any of these people?"

"No names," I flush. "There's too many of them. They're quite a big gang, you're likely to at least see some of them if you wander the streets at night."

"Why, may I ask, were you wandering the streets at night?"

"It's calming," my face goes red. "I try to appreciate life... both my parents are dead."

He scribbles down notes. Alphys smiles nervously at me in reassurance.

"Ok. Have you received any previous prescriptions?"

"I never really went to the doctors," I say honestly. "Only for jabs."

He continues to write.

"Does the gang have a name?"

"I think they're called 'Pandilla,'" I pinch my shoulders nervously. "I've heard them say it a few times."

"Great," he notes it down. "Unless you have anything else to say, you're free to-"

"Wait!" I exclaim. "I, uh... please, promise me that you'll be careful. It's just, there are so many of them and they're so dangerous! You could capture all but one, and he'd come looking for me. Promise?"

"I promise," he says unconvincingly. "Now, if you have nothing else to say-"

"I know."

I stand up and Alphys follows me out of the room. We pass the man from before.

"Freak..." he mutters under his breath as Alphys passes.

My fist twinges and she grabs hold of it. We wait until we're in the car and burst out with giddy laughter.

"You did it!" She exclaims, starting the engine.

"I guess so," I grin.

"Now," the car heads back towards town. "We have an after party to prepare for."

We play the radio and yell along with the lyrics, making up words for the ones we don't know and she has to pause it so that she'll stop laughing and concentrate on parking the car. We pull up in Undyne's driveway and Alphys grabs a plastic bag full of clothes from the boot. We knock on Undyne's door and she swings it open.

"NGAAAAAAAAAH!" She declares. "Welcome in!"

I step inside and Alphys follows. They shut the door and order me to shower.

"What are you implying?" I grin.

"Trust me," Undyne grins back. "You'll feel so much better."

I shower in the warm water and switch on the hair dryer. I crank it up to the highest setting and blast it against my head. It feels nice on my wet scalp, soon enough: my hair is dry. I make my way back down the stairs and the girls bombard me with hairbrushes. They untangle my matted hair and beam in admiration of its wavy black locks.

"Now for the clothes!"

They approach me and take the bottom of my shirt.

"Wait!" I assure them. "No no, it's ok- I can do that."

"We're not gonna judge," Undyne smiles.

"It's not that, I just-" my hand moves reflexively in front of my wrist. "Here, let me do it."

"You're acting real suspicious, you know?" Undyne raises an eyebrow.

"What?" I try to distract her. "Do you smell something fishy?"

"You're very funny," she says sarcastically.

"Look!" Alphys pulls out an epic looking steampunk styled shirt and waistcoat from the bag.

It looks really great, incredible even, but it has short sleeves.

"Uh," I swallow. "Alphys, a moment please?"

"Sure!" She beams.

She steps into the bathroom with me.

"What is it?"

"I- uh..." I pull up my sleeve shamefully.

Her eyes go so wide that I begin to worry about her face muscles.

"Oh my- where did you- never mind... I- I'm so sorry you're experiencing this," she says frantically. "Some of these are fresh! I-" she pauses. "I know what to do. Stay here!"

She sprints out of the room and I watch her sprint down the drive and into town from the window. She comes back five minutes later.

"Look!" She exclaims, holding two leather fingerless gloves which have sleeves that reach down my wrists.

They're less like gloves and more like sort of arm protectors. They're brown and have a crisscross decoration with thread down the top of them. They'll do perfectly.

"I swapped them for a pair of gloves I got you!" She exclaims. "I remembered seeing them the other day. You can wear these, but you have to promise to let me help you overcome this. Deal?"

"Deal," I swallow hard.

She helps me to put on the shirt/waistcoat and hands me the glove, arm protector thingies. She places a clock necklace around my neck and edgy, black leather boots on my feet. My jeans stay on.

"Perfect!" She grins, fiddling around with my hair.

I look in the mirror. I look like an edgy steampunk who just slew a dragon. I watch my grey eyes blink.

"Thank you," I say wholeheartedly.

"Come on!" She giggles like a schoolgirl. "Let's show Undyne!"

She pulls me down the stairs and shoves me in front of Undyne.

"You're beautiful!" She exclaims. "And the living embodiment of angst."

I snigger and look at a leaflet that catches my attention.

' _Come see the one, the only- METTATON! Make your day FABULOUS!_ ™'

I think I recognise it from the skelebros' house. More evidence to the Papyton mystery.

"Sans is gonna have one more bone in his body tonight..." I hear Undyne whispering to Alphys.

"UNDYNE!" She hisses back.

I pretend not to hear and turn around.

"So what will you two be wearing?"

"I've got mine in my bag," Alphys begins to put on a black and white polka dot dress.

Undyne rushes upstairs and returns in a black leather jacket and jeans.

"Awesome," I grin at how cute they look.

"Everyone," Undyne declares. "You'll thank me later."

She takes out three breath mints and hands them around. I snigger and we eat them.

"Ready?" Alphys asks.

"Ready."

"Ready."

We walk to Undyne's car.

"We're gonna blast Panic at the Disco songs so loud you'll doubt your existence," Undyne cackles.

All I really remember of the car ride is IF YOU LOVE ME LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

We step out and walk into the place we agreed to eat at. It's not a fancy restaurant like all the MTT brand places, but it's not cheap and greasy like Grillbys. It's rustic and quaint, more of a bar than a restaurant but spotless. Everything is made of waxy looking wood.

"Do you have a reservation?" The man at the counter asks.

"No, we're eating with-" Alphys starts.

"HEY!" Papyrus shouts and waves from across the room.

The man chuckles and indicates for us to go and sit with them. We do and Sans shuffles over to make space for us. He sits next to Papyrus in the circular booth seat and I sit next to Undyne who, in turn, sits to Alphys. She gives me a little nudge and points out Sans's blush. I slap her under the table and she grins. We order our drinks and count the seconds before they arrive. They're very quick but Sans says that Grillbys is quicker.

"SO, HUMAN," Papyrus asks. "HOW DID THE INTERVIEW GO?"

"It went pretty good," I smile.

"THAT'S WONDERFUL! I HEARD THAT YOU WERE VERY NERVOUS."

"But thanks to you, I got through it," I say shyly.

"Thanks to you we don't think all humans are terrible people!" Undyne retaliates.

"Thanks to Sans you're alive!" Alphys declares.

"Thanks to the guys who stabbed you I met you in the first place!" Sans points out.

"YES!" Papyrus declares, picking up his glass. "CHEERS TO THE GUYS WHO STABBED YOU!"

"Cheers to the guys who stabbed you!" We all raise our glasses and say (a bit too loudly- judging from the glances we receive) in unison.


	16. Stop Blushing

**Sans POV**

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Croons a robotic voice.

"Mettaton!" Alphys exclaims. "I thought you were coming on Saturday!"

"I only said that the _live show_ was on Saturday," he smiles.

I've never really liked Mettaton, I mean, I've never really disliked him either, he's just a little cocky. Not naive Papyrus kind of cocky but a different, narcissistic type. He's got a lot of nerve that guy. Alph told me the truth about him, he was a ghost with big dreams and she just wanted to become the royal scientist, so they made a deal. Mettaton would inhabit the temporary body she made for him- due to not having the correct materials- and she'd pretend that she made him. Once royal scientist, Alph would have the resources needed to put Mettaton in the kind of body he wanted so he could live his dream. Their plan worked. Alphys is the royal scientist and Mettaton is a star. Alphys went on to create the amalgamates, they're living with their families now, and I know Undyne is helping her with the guilt. Mettaton takes a seat next to Papyrus and a ghost follows him.

"This is Napstablook," he says. "Blooky, day hi."

"Hi," the ghost says quietly.

Everyone waves.

"So," Undyne asks. "How did you know where to find us?"

"Simple," he lowers his robotic eyebrows. "Your car is in the parking lot."

"Oh, right."

I spot a light orange glow on Papy's cheekbones. He's sweating.

"Hey Metta," Alphys grins. "Papyrus over there's a pretty big fan of yours."

"Oh really?" He turns to Papyrus. "Meeting fans is always a pleasure, I trust that you're coming to the live show?"

"O-" Papy stutters. "OF COURSE!"

"That's wondeful darling," he pauses. "Say... I don't think we all have each other's numbers!"

We spend the time before a waitress comes to take our orders to trade numbers.

"I don't believe we've met!" I hear Mettaton talking to Finch.

"No," she smiles shyly. "I don't think so. I'm Finch!"

They shake hands and I feel my Patellas twitching. Blooky gives me his number and I put myself down as the classic 'PunMaster.' I changed Finch's name to 'Finchy' because it'll annoy her if she finds out. She looks really cute in that tomboyish waistcoat and jeans. The leather arm-bands work as well. I reckon one of the girls picked it out for her, she doesn't seem like she could afford it. The lady takes our orders and walks away. I don't think I've ever seen Finch's hair down, it's wavy and black, flowing down her shoulders and shifting as she laughs. I love her laugh. It's so genuine and it makes coaxing laughter out of her so satisfying. Her hair stands out against her ghostly white skin, she could give Napstablook a run for his money. Her grey eyes sit in the colour between, not white but not black.

"Thinking of new puns?" She asks me.

I realise that I was staring. Undyne wiggles her eyebrows at me. I ignore her.

"I just can't seem to think of anything _humerus,"_ I grin.

"Nonsense," She sniggers. "You're telling fibulas."

"Don't be sternum with me."

"SANS! HUMAN!" Papyrus glares. "STOP TELLING THESE AGONISING JOKES!"

"Yeah," Undyne giggles. "Get a room."

Finch's face goes bright red and I feel mine heat up as well.


	17. I See What's Going On Here

**Mettaton POV**

I look at Alphys she nods. Ah, I see what's going on here. The two of them are clearly obsessed with each other, but both are too tsunderish to admit it. Just like every anime ever.

"So what happened to you Finch?" I ask.

"Oh," She flinches. "I was, uh, I was stabbed a week or two ago."

"You must be brave," I smirk at Sans's dark, jealous face and add "darling."

"I've had worse," she shrugs.

"But didn't you almost die on the side of the road?" Undyne asks.

"She's talking about her dead parents," Blooky popes up.

There's an awkward silence.

"Oooh," he looks down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hit a hard topic, ooooh..."

"It's ok, heh," Finch blushes.

Her hand does something under the table and I see Alphys gripping her arm making her jump. She puts her hand back up on the table. If I'm not mistaken, I think I see blood in her fingernails.

"I have a pasta and tomato meal for... 'The Great Papyrus?'" The waitress says.

"THAT'S ME," Papyrus takes the plate from her hand.

It's actually rather cute, how naive and innocent the skeleton is.

"And I have an oil can along with an MTT-Brand Always-Convenient Human Soul Substitute for 'Mettaton,'" she says.

I take the plate from her hands and thank her.

"May I ask, darling, when did this restaurant start serving food like this?" I ask her.

"Soon after monsters were freed," she leans on the table. "We figured we'd start serving some monster food. This restaurant may be a lot of things, but it isn't racist."

"Remind me to give you a tip later," I tell her.

She chuckles and walks off to give out the rest of the orders. She comes back balancing three plates on her arms.

"Some Chinese noodles for 'Alphys,' an incorporeal sandwich and water for 'Blooky' and a bottle of ketchup for 'GetDunkedOn...'"

People take their meals and Sans grins. She comes back once again with

"A small roast pork meal for 'Finch' and a chicken meal with the bones still on as requested for 'Undyne.'"

"Are you trying to imply something?" Sans jokes.

"Very funny," Undyne rolls her eyes.

They take their meals and there's that glorious moment of silence while everyone just appreciates their food.

"Done," Sans announces, slamming his empty ketchup bottle onto the table. "I win."

"WHO SAID WE WERE COMPETING?" Papyrus asks.

"I did," he says. "And I win."

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL NEVER BE BEATEN AT ANYTHING BY MY LAZY BROTHER!" He declares. "I THEREFORE ANNOUNCE THIS TO BE A COMPETITION OF WHO CAN ENJOY THEIR FOOD THE MOST! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

"Oh my King Fluffybuns," I gawp. "That has to be _the_ most adorable laugh I've ever seen."

He blushes a shade of orange and Undyne nudges him with her foot from across the table.

"Can you two make out already? I've been shipping this for months."

"UNDYNE!" Papyrus glares. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THIS BATTLE OF PASSION? I WILL NEVER SURRENDER!"

"I don't think you'd complain," she grins. "I reckon you'd quite enjoy it actually."

"Don't listen to them Papy," Sans covers his ears. "You're going to taint him!"

"Aww," Undyne coos. "Such an innocent little cinnamon roll."

I chuckle along with the others and Sans reluctantly takes his hands off of Papyrus. We chat the whole evening, I haven't had an evening as great as this for ages. It turns out that Papyrus is actually a _really_ big fan, to the point where he knows all the MTT trivia there is. I have to say, I might and up falling for the tall skeleton. The girls sure want me to. I haven't had such a good time in ages. Blooky actually smiled while he and Finch were talking about music. I think I'll have to visit more often, I forgot how nice Alphys is to talk to, how much of a nerd she is. Finch is a dork too, but a hard core one. Being stabbed doesn't appear to have unhinged her in the slightest.

"I think we should start heading back," Undyne announces after a while.

"YES," Papyrus agrees. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEEDS HIS BEAUTY SLEEP."

"Are you going to head back to our place?" Sans asks Finch.

"Yeah," she nods. "I slept over at Alphys's for a few days, my stuff is in the car." She pauses. "I think I'll go to the toilet first."

She stands up and Undyne, Alphys and I go with her to the toilets. When she's done, we corner her grinning mischievously.

"I swear," Undyne says. "If I see you tomorrow and you and Bone Boy haven't hooked up, I'll lock you two in a microwave until you kiss."

"Hey," Finch giggles. "Let me go."

"Don't try to pretend that you don't like him," Alphys grins. "You do, don't you?"

The pressure to tell us the truth starts to weigh on her shoulders.

"Well," she says. "Maybe a little..."

The girls squeal.

"I knew it!"

"Ah," I smile. "The tsundere's cover cracks."

"But if he breaks your heart," Undyne says ruthlessly. "I'll come over there myself and crack his stupid little skull open, got it?"

She nods faintly and we release her from the corner. She grabs her stuff from the car and teleports off with the skelebros.


	18. Philophobia

**Finch POV**

"SANS!" Papyrus shouts, despite Sans being right in front of him. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEEDS HIS BEDTIME STORY!"

"Right," Sans says to Papyrus. "I'll be right back," he turns to me.

I nod and he goes with Papyrus to his room. My phone buzzes.

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Remember to give me ALL the details, got it?**

 **Finch: What if it gives me PTSD?**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Then I volunteer to be your therapist.**

 **Finch: Ok ok.**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Anyway, be seeing you, I wouldn't want to keep you two at bay.**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Or should I say, at BAE?**

 **Finch: Really? REALLY?!**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Yup. Ima go persuade Mettaton to ask Papy out.**

 **Finch: Riight.**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: BYEEEEEE!**

 **Finch: Baii.**

Sans comes out from Papyrus's room grinning.

"Only took him two minutes to get to sleep." He pauses. "Do you want to change your bandages?"

I only just realise how gross they feel. I nod. We make our way up to the bathroom and I hesitate to pull up the waistcoat.

"By the way," I can feel him blushing somehow. "You look, uh, real nice with your hair down. And the waistcoat," he pauses. "The edgy shoes too."

I laugh and pull up my shirt to expose the bandages to him.

"Alphys picked them out for me, she's so nice."

He takes off the bandages and cleans my wound.

"The arm-protector thingies are quite specific," he points out. "Why did she choose them?"

My face goes pale.

"They're just stylish thingies with no purpose."

"Right..." he mutters, applying a new bandage. "So what do you think about Mettaton?"

"He's pretty cool," I shrug. "Papy seems to like him..."

"Not you as well!" He exclaims.

"Aww," I grin. "Someone's got a case of over-protective brother syndrome."

"Hey!" He ruffles my hair and we step down the stairs. "So, wanna watch a movie?"

"Sounds good," I nod. "What have we got?"

"Let me see..." he sits upside down on the couch with his legs up over the back.

I sit cross legged on a cushion.

"Some old Mettaton movies," he scrolls tiredly past the rows of films. "A bunch of Disney Movies that Paps and Frisk always watch together, The Nightmare Before Christmas-"

I snigger at the skeletons's very specific taste in films.

"The Book of Life is pretty good," I point out.

"What?" He looks at the film on the screen. "I've never watched it."

"It's basically the film that Coco was ripped off of," I shrug.

"I thought Coco was pretty good," he says thoughtfully.

"NO," I glare. "THE BOOK OF LIFE IS A CLASSIC."

"It wasn't made that long ago," he grins.

"Oh you'll learn," I mutter, taking the remote from his hand and selecting it.

We watch the movie on the couch, cracking puns at the skeleton scenes. The cold night air finds its way into the living room and the skelebros only have one blanket. By the end of the movie, we're swaddled up together in the blanket, only half conscious. The credits begin to play and Sans turns the television off with a bone he takes from thin air.

"How'd you do that?" I breathe, aware of being somewhat drunk off of the midnight air.

"Magic," he grins.

"Oh, right..." I internally scold myself for being so stupid.

"You enjoyed the evening?" He asks.

I nod. He rests his head on my shoulder, the blanket constraining most of our movement. It's too cold to put it away. I feel my thoughts slurring with late night drowsiness and my insides go cold with fear. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? I've never had any experience whatsoever with romance, is this affectionate? How am I supposed to react? What if he hates me, what if I ruin everything? What if I disappoint Undyne, Alphys and Mettaton? What if I disappoint Sans? Damnit, damnit! If he gets to know me, he'll find out that I'm a freak. Crazy, like the Pandilla boys called me. Only crazy people wander the streets at night. Only crazy people cut themselves with a pocket knife. Only crazy people are prescribed pills, only crazy people throw them in the river and lie to the doctors. If Sans finds out that I'm the messed up psycho that I am, he'll hate me. I can't let that happen.

"You ok?" He asks concerned. "You're as white as a Ghostablook."

I try to force a laugh but nothing comes out.

"Finch?"

My breathing becomes rapid.

"Woah," he reassured me. "It's ok, you want me to take the blanket away? That's ok, if you-"

"I-" I stutter. "I just need some air..."

I rush out of the door and stand in the front driveway. I'm ruining everything. He probably hates me. Stop it heart! Your job is to pump blood around the body and that's it! I sit on the grass with my head in between my legs. My hand reaches into my pocket and grips the blade of the knife. Its cold steel sends a jolt across my spine. I wish it would stay cold like that, keep me awake. There's only one other way to give yourself more jolts with a knife...

"Philophobia," Sans reads from his phone. "A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of love and intimacy, of deep relationship."

I blush and he sits down next to me.

"Finch," he looks deeply into my eyes. "I know how to give people a bad time, but you have nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I-" my voice reduces to a ghastly whisper. "I'm broken Sans." The back of my throat prickles. "I was afraid you'd find out..."

"What do you mean you're broken?" He asks softly. "From where I can see you, you're absolutely perfect."

"I-" my hands shake. "I wish I was."

"Don't say that," he grips my hands steadily. " _I_ wish you'd see that you are! That you'd stop viewing yourself as undesirable, that you'd stop starving yourself hoping to see someone that lives up to your impossible expectations when you look in the mirror."

I have nothing to say in return. I look up at him, my eyes glassy. Come on Finch... don't cry, you can't cry. Only crazy people cry when a skeleton puts his arms around you. He embraces me and I become dizzy. The world around me seems to lose its place and everything spins. What have I done to Sans? I've infected him, love is a disease that'll cost you your life. I should never have met him, I should have died on that road like I was supposed to.

"Shh," he tries to calm me, reading my expression.

I stand up, feeling vulnerable, and shut my eyes. I should run away, far away, he'll be so much better off without me.

"I'm going to get into some comfier clothes," I mutter, tiptoeing up the staircase.

I grab a plastic bag and fill it with my belongings. I take off the waistcoat, boots and other accessories- not wanting to ruin them- and slip on a shirt with my old, bloody grey one. I sling it over my shoulder and climb out of the window. Their house thankfully isn't that tall, the drainpipe giving me handholds to climb down with. My toes hit the pavement like a cat and I sprint out around the back towards the subway. Silent tears stream down my face as I reach the station. I failed everyone. My footsteps echo through the empty hall, yet I don't feel safe. I step into the bathroom to come to my senses. I take a deep breath and bring the knife to my wrist. Just a small one. Just to focus. I peer at myself in the mirror. Different people look different when they cry. My Dad's eyes always went red and puffy whereas my Mum's face went white while her ears turned bright red. Thankfully, my face never reacts much to tears. My nose just runs and goes a little red. Tears roll slowly down my unaffected cheeks. In the darkness, no one should notice: well, no one will be there to notice. I wash my face and clean my wrist before stepping hastily out to get a ride home. My footsteps are deafening in the maddeningly silent subway.

 _Tap._

 _Tap._

 _Tap._

 _Tap._

 _Tap._

 _Tap._

 _Thud._

 _Tap._

 _Thud._

 _Tap._

 _Thud._

 _Tap._

I hear another set of footsteps behind me. Fear triggers my flight response but I ignore it and walk as steadily as I can. They get closer. I quicken my pace. They're running now. I let out a yelp as a big pair of hands twist me around and slam me against the wall.

"Aren't you the little freak we roughed up a couple weeks ago?" He spits.

I shudder. He lifts up my shirt and my heart skips a beat. When he spots the bandages, he drops it.

"Yeah, it's you all right," he snarls at me. "A little birdie told me that a certain little freak took a visit to the local police station, is that birdie correct?"

I think back to the racist man at the police station. It must have been him. If my voice fails to work when ordering food in a restaurant, there's no way in hell it's gonna work now.

"DID YOU?" He slams me back against the wall.

I whimper and my body feels useless. In this sort of situation, I'd have his teeth out by now- but I don't have the strength to argue with him.

"Do you want to see what we do with freaks who can't keep their mouths shut?" He asks.

I shut my eyes and prepare myself for whatever my fate is. He holds me against the wall by my hair and raises a fist. He puts one hand over my mouth and I bite him. No matter what, no one can put their filthy hands on my face and walk away with all ten fingers.

"Ow!" He flinches and glares at me ruthlessly. "You dirty little savage!"

He shakes me and hits my body against the wall for the third time. My knees buckle and I topple onto them. He leans over and takes out a knife.

"Don't move."

I sit there, pathetically, waiting for him to tear open my flesh. There's a crash.

"ARGH!- WHAT THE-" the man starts.

His yells turn into screams as he's lifted off of the ground by his soul. Sans slams him across the room, beating him into walls and raising bones out of the floor to cut him with. He screams for mercy but Sans doesn't stop.

"Sans..." I look up at the ceiling, then to the skeleton. "Sans!"

The white pinpricks of light writhing his eye sockets are nowhere to be seen. He looks terrifying.

"Sans stop!" I choke, crawling over to him. "You're going to kill him, stop!"

He continues to beat the man. He's either dead or unconscious by now and blood stains the walls, floor and ceiling. I jump at Sans.

"Sans!"

He turns and sends me flying across the floor, into the wall. I hit it with a crash and look up frightened out of my wits. Sans realises what he's done and his eyes return.

"Oh my- Finch!" He rushes over. "I'm so sorry, are you hurt?"

Blood trickles out of my mouth and I choke it out. I rush over the the man and look at him. His heart is slow, but beating. I try my best to lift him but almost trip.

"Come on-" I heave at his heavy body. "If we're quick, we can get him to a hospital in time..."

"He doesn't deserve it," Sans says coldly.

"Don't help then," tears cloud my vision and I try not to cough up too much blood.

"Oh no, damnit," he steps closer. "I hurt you pretty bad, are you sure you're ok?"

"You can make it up to me by getting this man to a hospital," I pant.

He sighs and steps over to us. He teleports us all into the all too familiar hospital. Nurses rush the man away and I assure them that I'm fine.

"He's one of Pandilla," Sans tells the doctors. "Get him to the police office when he wakes up."

We walk out of the building and I struggle to stay stood up.

"Careful now," he steadies me.

"I-" the feeling of crying comes back into my mind. "I'm sorry I ran away, I was so damn scared."

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he takes my hand. "You already have enough scars without me making it worse for ya."

"And," I blush. "Thanks for saving me."

"All in a day's work," he grins. "All in a day's work."

He teleports us home and into his room.

"You must be tired," he runs his bony fingers through my hair. "Just strip down to your underwear or something and you can sleep in my bed. Then you can have a nice warm shower in the morning."

My woozy, drunken mind thinks that's a good idea until I remember the scars on my wrists. I shake my head.

"Don't be shy," he smiles. "I don't mind."

He begins to help me out of my sweaty jeans, my black underwear revealed to the world. He takes my hoodie, and then starts to peel off my shirt. I let out a small hiss.

"Easy tiger."

I'm useless against him and I just stand there, drowning in shame as he lifts off my shirt and freezes up at all my scars.

"F-Finch," he stutters seriously- his eyes disappear like they did earlier. "What are these?"

I have no answer for him.

"A-and that one's still bleeding," he looks around worriedly at my arm. "Those are fresh ones over there, there are-" he inhales. "There are s- so many..."

I stare at my feet, misery washes over my body.

"Maybe I can get Alphys to heal you," he ponders. "And I'm sure Undyne knows a lot about scars... I've heard Tori is a good therapist..."

"It's-" I breathe. "It's ok. I'm fine."

He looks at me in disbelief. Fear creeps into my stomach.

"You call _this_ ok?" He holds up my wounded arm. "You really think _this_ is fine?"

The shame seems to stab all the way through me and out the other side.

"People care about you Finch," I can see tears in his eyes. " _I_ care about you! And I'm not going to let you leave my sight before I've helped you."

I sigh.

"Maybe we should just get to bed."

"This is serious!" His voice shakes. "You've got me dead worried about you!"

Silence. He sighs and takes my hand, leading me to his bed. We fall asleep in a bundle of blankets and warmth. I'll never deserve him.


	19. Puns For Days

**(Still)** **Finch POV**

"Mornin doll-face," Sans smiles.

I open my tired eyes and grimace. Everything aches. I'm lying in Sans's arms, gazing up at him from under the covers.

"Aww," he grins. "You look _bone_ tired."

"Numskull..." is all I can muster.

"I bet you're trying to think of the _ulna_ mate revenge on my for hurting you yesterday."

"Very humerus," I lower my eyebrows. "Also," I stutter. "You- you don't have to feel bad about that... I hurt you as well."

"Correction," he strokes my wrist. "You hurt yourself, thus hurting me."

"What's the difference?" I look distant.

"It's dangerous Finch!" A pained expression sits on his face. "It could get infected! You might have to go to the hospital again! One day, you might go to far and you- you'd-" he screws his eyes shut. "First thing tomorrow, I'm getting Alphys on your case."

"I'm not _that_ bad," I lie.

"No!" He glares. "Do you even know the damage you're doing to yourself? I'm not helping much... throwing you across the subway like that... let me help you."

I sigh and shuffle up slightly so I'm in line with him.

"What do you want me to say?"

"What you're using to hurt yourself with," Sans frowns stubbornly.

"Just my fingernails," I lie again.

"Yeah right," he holds up my wrist to my eyes. "These look like _knife_ cuts."

I blush and stare down at the sheets.

"I'm doing this for your own good," he says reluctantly.

My eyes go wide as he lifts up my possessions with a flick of his index finger and starts to sort through them in the air. I let out a choke and try to stop him but my soul turns blue and I can't move a muscle in my body. One of his eyes is blue, the other nowhere to be seen, and he rifles through my clothes before something falls out of my jeans with a thud. He brings it towards him. I watch, frightened, as he takes my pocket knife in hand and looks at the old, crusted blood coating the blade. His eyes go black and it dissipates into the air.

"Sans!" I exclaim.

"That's step one," he frowns. "Step two... ask Alphys what to do. I can't be bothered to do that so today we lounge about in our underwear and watch memes."

I nod, too tired to argue.

"Has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you sleep?" He asks.

I give him a tsunderish shove and he laughs.

"I'm only trying to tickle your funny bone."

"You're not punny."

"All have you know, I'm a very popular comedian!"

"Says the guy reading an astrophysics book."

"I just got to the bit about anti-gravity, I can't put it down."

"I'm hungry," I think out loud.

"Hello Hungry, I'm Sans."

I open my mouth to say something but he teleports us to the kitchen. I stumble and he supports me.

"Bone appétit! What do you want?"

"Holy water," I say bluntly.

"And how do you expect me to make that?"

"You boil the hell out of it."

He sniggers.

"Well I set myself up for that one, do you want some updog?"

"What's updog?" I ask. "WAIT-"

"Nothing much what's up with you?" He grins, clearly immensely pleased with himself.

"What do you call a dinosaur with an immense vocabulary?" I ask.

"You mean Alphys?" He smirks.

"No, a thesaurus."

He seems to be on the brink of bursting out with laughter.

"I used to think I was indecisive," he snorts. "But now I'm not so sure."

We crack up with laughter.

"Could I have an egg," I ask after a while.

"Why?"

"It'll open up a whole new section of puns."

"Eggcellent," he grins.

"There are so many egg puns," I frown. "And you went for _eggcellent?"_

"I thought it would make you crack up."

I snigger and take a while to catch my breath.

"HEY," he glares. "WHY ARE YOU EGG- NORING ME?"

I clutch my sides and grin.

"Hm? I don't get the yolk."

"That was bad," he laughs.

"Omlettin' it slide for now," I smile.

" _That's_ my girl!"

He flips the egg over in the pan and I grab a plate.

"Want any condiments with it?" He asks.

"I mustard admit that I don't really like condiments very much," I laugh.

"You traitor!" He exclaims. "You really need to ketchup!"

We laugh for a while.

"Don't be saucy," I tell him my weak pun after about fifteen seconds of thinking.

He grins and thinks.

"I got one," he looks at me. "I relish your expression."

We laugh with tears in our eyes.

"I got nothing," I say finally.

"I have one more," his laughter quietens and a faint blue rushes up his cheekbones.

" _Mayo be mine?"_

I stand, open mouthed, staring at the smooth little skeleton. The question seems like a no-brainer, yet my anxiety screams at me that I'm not good enough for him. I ignore it. If a cute little skeleton asks me out, to hell with saying no.

"Of course," I giggle and add for good measure "bonehead."

He seems so relieved as he puts my egg onto the plate.

"For a second there," he breathes. "I thought you were gonna say no."

"I'm not that thick," I smirk, taking the plate.

He smiles, making himself an egg sandwich with toast and adding a heap of ketchup. We sit and eat, cracking jokes and watching old memes on a laptop in our underwear all day. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous for whatever he's going to tell Alphys about me, but I can't stop internally fangirling every time I think of our new relationship. Excitement is a dangerous habit, but I think I can make an exception for a certain skeleton. I check my phone.

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Mission Patella commence.**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Repeat, Mission Patella commence.**

 **Finch: Mission successful.**

 **Finch: Repeat, mission successful.**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: You, me, tomorrow, DETAILS.**

 **Finch: Shall we call it Mission Sushi?**

 **BESTFISHFOREVER: Just get over here tomorrow you dweeb!**


	20. Mission Sushi

**Undyne POV**

"YOU DID WHAT?" I exclaim.

"I told you," she says bashfully. "I ran away."

"Why on Earth would you do that?" I put my hand on my forehead.

"I'm-" She flushes. "I'm philophobic."

"English please," I sigh.

"I'm afraid of love."

"Yet here you are, head over heels for a lazy skeleton," I smirk.

"Oi," She glares. "Says you, Miss 'I'm in love with a little yellow lizard and if you're not ok with that then FIGHT ME!'"

"That's pretty accurate," I ponder. "But anyway, WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT?"

"A man pulled out a knife and threatened me, then he came along and, uh... he nearly killed him. Then he slammed me into a wall without thinking-"

I lift up her shirt and she lets out a squeak. I can see bruising on her ribs just above the bandages.

"Want me to go and kick his bony ass?" I grin, thinking of the innocent author who took about three minutes to write that last word.

"It's ok," She shrugs, then- with a mischievous grin- "I can beat him up myself."

"What next?"

"We took the man to the hospital and teleported back home, we fell asleep and woke up. We made breakfast, telling awful puns, then he asked me."

She tells me his punny speech and I smirk.

"You two are both dorks."

"Maybe..." she smiles.

We spend the rest of the day with Papyrus, making friendship spaghetti, and 'nyeh heh heh hehing.' I wonder what Alph is up to. Mettaton's show is tomorrow night and Papy seems giddy with excitement.


	21. A Night To Be Remembered

**Alphys POV**

"And she has, like, twenty on her wrist," Sans tells me. "Some looked pretty fresh."

"I knew it was bad," I say in a shocked voice. "But I never could have imagined that, she needs help." I look at my computer. "Let's see here... I can do something about those cuts, though I can't get rid of them: I'll just disinfect them a bit. As for therapy, I'd get the Dreemurrs."

"As in Tori and Asgore?" He asks.

I nod.

"Yup. The Queen is extremely good at being there for people, empathy and calming panic attacks whereas Asgore is incredibly skilled in the art of getting people to tell the truth. The both of them together could be the perfect remedy for Finch's depression."

"And what do I do," he asks.

"Well, as her boyfriend," I use the term just to rub it in that they're finally a couple. "I'd suggest that you stay there for her and DON'T get into any arguments with her! Fighting with her could result in her suicide."

He twinges at the word and I try to reassure him.

"Hey, it's alright." I grin. "That girl is obsessed with you! Everyone ships you, I've written an alarming amount of fanfiction and-"

"You did what?" He raises his...

 **(Why do I have to keep pretending he has eyebrows?)**

 ***Sigh.**

' _eyebrows'_ and grins.

"N-NOTHING!" I declare. "IT'S NOTHING! So, uh, you wanna get ready for Mettaton's live show?"

He nods and I nip into the closet.

"Give me a sec."

I put on that black and white polka dot dress underneath my lab coat and step back out.

"Let's make you irresistible to your human," I smile widely.

We get into his house and he shows me the array of hoodies, jeans and shorts he has.

"Hm..." I rifle through them and finally pick out a pair of ripped jeans, a white tank top and a leather jacket. "These!"

"I didn't even know I had a leather jacket," he shrugs.

He changed into them and I squeal like I did when Mew Mew Kissie Cutie Two was released (only to be HEAVILY disappointed.)

"If you two kiss," I beam. "You two'd better do it in front of me, I'm not missing that for the world."

He tries to laugh it off but I see blush and beads of sweat on his face. We wait until half past nine and walk into the town square. I see Papyrus pretty quickly (he's pretty hard to miss) and we meet up with them. He's wearing a shirt reading 'cool dude' and a backwards cap. Undyne is wearing a black tank top, jeans and a red tartan jacket tied around her waist. Napstablook is with them wearing a top hat. Finch is wearing the things that I got her, only with a black pleated skirt and black, see-through tights. She only strikes me as the type of person to wear skirts on _very_ special occasions. Her black hair is tied up in a French plait, braided across her scalp before hanging loosely down her shoulder. Hair hangs by her eyes, purposely left out of the plait. Her gothic, steampunky outfit makes me wonder why every emo in the town hasn't come and jumped on her.

"Hi!" Undyne grins.

Finch smiles and Papyrus waves.

"THE HUMAN, ASGORE AND HIS CLONE ARE COMING SHORTLY," Papyrus announces.

We stand around and chat for a while before the Dreemurr family approach us. Frisk is wearing a blue and purple striped shirt, goat ears and little horns adorn her head. I remember getting those for her birthday not so long ago. Asgore is wearing a Hawaiian shirt- I don't blame him in the midsummer heat- and Toriel has a short sleeved robe on which possesses the Delta Rune. They wave and bound over to us. I read Frisk's sign language conversation with Finch. She's learning basic sign language, Toriel gave her a few lessons.

' _Is it true that you and Sans are a thing?'_

"Where'd you hear that?" Finch smiles quietly.

' _Just... around...'_ Frisk signals back.

"Maybe..." Finch says mysteriously. "Maybe not..."

"I can help you settle this," Undyne steps over. "THEY TOTALLY ARE!"

They giggle and Toriel beckons Finch over. They have a quiet conversation with Asgore, most likely about the therapy I suggested, and I look at Sans. He hasn't spoken a word, instead- his eyes are trained on Finch, a blush sitting across his cheeks.

"Aww," I grin.

He jumps and scowls, his face turning even bluer. He walks over to Papyrus and they talk. Suddenly, a loud noise surprises us all.

"Good evening beauties and gentlebeauties!"

We look up at the stage to see Mettaton beaming into a microphone. Papyrus lets out a little fangirl scream.

"Welcome to my big show!" There's applause and he waits for it to finish. "Tonight, I will be performing my top hit songs, having a dance battle with some of you and just being generally fabulous!" More applause. "To start us off, one of my original songs!"

He starts to sing one of his newer songs: 'That Moment When You're Fast Asleep But Suddenly You're Falling Off A Cliff To Your Inevitable Death' and I hear Papyrus whispering along with him. It's very sweet to see, Papyrus adds the odd 'nyeh heh heh' wherever he deems necessary. The song finishes and people applaud, Papyrus the loudest. Despite the majority of people's cheers being positive, there's still the odd racist yell of 'go back underground freak!' Or 'you don't belong here with _normal_ people!' I have to say, he's grown extremely good at tuning them out.

"Next up," he declares. "My song and dance number: When A Human Fell Into The Underground!" He begins to sing.

' _When a human fell into the underground, she began to shout. MUM! DAD! SOMEBODY HELP! SOMEBODY GET ME OUT! MY LEG IS BROKEN! MY RIBS ARE FRACTURED! MY BRAIN IS SEVERELY DAMAGED!_

 _When a human fell into the underground, something that rhymes with damaged!'_

People laugh and applaud, Toriel and Asgore share a glance.

"Who wants to sing with me?"

People volunteer and Mettaton calls up Frisk, Papyrus and a group of humans. They all sing the song, Frisk doesn't speak but she dances and enjoys herself all the same. The rest of the night is just as entertaining. By the time Mettaton gets to his finishing song, people are tired.

"This one's a slow one so grab that special someone!"

I walk over to Undyne, Toriel to Asgore, Papyrus to Frisk (though I'd love to see him slow dancing with Mettaton) and we look over at Sans and Finch.

"Don't be shy," Undyne grins at them.


	22. Silver In The Moonlight

**Sans POV**

Blushing, we grip each other and wait for the song to start. Finch looks really cute, a tough, rebellious waistcoat, accessories and boots but with a pretty skirt that reaches just above her knees. I'd never expect her to wear a skirt, but it suits her so much that you'd think they were created specifically for her. Mettaton starts his song.

' _Oh my love! Please run away! Monster King, forbids your stay!'_

We slowly dance in the way that everyone else does, I can just barely remember the steps, and Finch whispers to me.

"Just so you know, I can't dance..."

As she says that, she accidentally steps on my toe. I grin and she mutters an apology. Mettaton's song is ok, something about its slow, meaningful beat makes the moonlight shine twice as bright. The glow coming off of Finch's face outdoes it several times over however, she looks so stunning. Like a swan with the sunlight reflecting off of its wings. She reminds me of a wolf, sleek and beautiful- but dangerous. She rests her head on my shoulder and we try to ignore the sickening sounds of Toriel and Asgore kissing. Papyrus and Frisk dance the quickstep to the extremely slow song but they don't seem to mind. Paps definitely has a thing for Mettaton, as much as I hate to admit it. Finch steps on my toe again and I smile. Her feet can shin up ladders like a cat and leap the gaps between buildings, but they can't dance the steps to a simple song. We walk slowly with the last few lines and soon enough, the end bit where the couples are expected to kiss comes in. I tug on Finch's arm and take her away from the crowd. She follows me to the little bridge which stands over the river, its fast flowing stream painted silver in the moonlight.

"I like your jacket," she says, looking for something to break the ice.

"I like your face," I say bluntly.

She laughs and we step closer together.

"I've always liked bridges," she looks dreamily out onto the water. "They've got a perfect view of a tiny part of a long journey. My Dad said he once followed a river up a mountain when he was a teenager."

"Sounds like something you'd do," I smile.

She grins back and I put my arms around her neck.

"Ready Kitten?" I ask.

She nods and I slowly bring her chin closer to me. Our lips meet and the world around us seems to melt away. Nothing exists anymore, just us. Her mouth tastes like mint and hunger, refreshing in the hot night air. Her lips are soft- completely unlike any pseudo body part I could ever make. I only need a tongue for this and they aren't very hard to conjure up. She seems to have been breath-taken: her breath coming slowly out through her nose. It's slightly heavy and I smile. She may be afraid of falling in love, but the hard part's over. The initial falling in love is done, now we get to enjoy it. The kiss lasts for what seems like an eternity, but eventually she needs to breathe a bit clearer. We slowly take our heads backwards and I can't help but beam at her adorable expression. Her grey eyes are big, like that of puppies, and her mouth is slightly open. She looks like she just experienced something unfathomably awe-inducing, perhaps she did. I'm flattered. Someone lets out a girly squeal from behind us. We turn around to see Alphys, Undyne, Frisk, Papyrus and even Mettaton watching us.

"Just in time," Undyne breathes.

"YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE!" Mettaton lets out a squeal a bit like Alphys's.

"THE HUMAN POINTED OUT THAT YOU TWO HAD RUN OFF TOGETHER AND NO ONE WANTED TO MISS THAT," Papyrus announces.

I can see Finch's cheeks turning red in my peripheral vision and my cheekbones heat up as well.

"Gee," I scratch my neck. "You guys aren't real good at privacy are you?"

"I promised you that I wouldn't miss your first kiss together!" Alphys exclaims. "We got here just in time to see you in the middle of it!"

"That's coincidental," I roll my eyes.

"You two are so romantic!" Mettaton exclaims. "Oh and did you like my album; Robots Never Forget?"

"Yeah," I joke. "I especially like that one about a human falling into the underground and getting brain damage."

Frisk giggles.

"How about we all have a slumber party in my hotel room?" Mettaton asks.

Everyone cheers, Papyrus practically rejoicing and we begin to head over to the minivan that Metta and Blooky took here. Toriel and Asgore decide to leave Frisk to go alone, they remind Alphys to drop her back off when she goes home. Everyone gets into the small and spotless little bus. Finch sits down next to me, her eyes tired. We reach the glamorous hotel and Mettaton takes us up to his and Blooky's large room. We can just about all fit in. Blooky and Frisk take one bed, Napstablook offering to sleep in the air but being politely reassured that he won't take up much room. Alphys and Undyne take the couch, they let their ships take control of them and insisted that Papyrus and Mettaton go in the other bed together. Finch and I take the spare mattress on the floor. Everyone is exhausted. I look over at Finch and grip her hand, whispering softly in her ear.

"Goodnight Kitten."


	23. Anime Legged Rectangle

**Papyrus POV**

Wakefulness is bestowed upon the Great Papyrus in a floury of noises, well, Undyne chokes on her own snore and wakes everyone up. Alphys sniggers and Undyne buries her knuckles into her weeaboo girlfriend's head. Napstablook floats into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. Finch stands up to get ready.

"Nope," Sans says and tugs her back down to the mattress with blue magic.

"Can't I just-" she starts, standing up again.

"Nope," he brings her down again.

"Really?" she lowers her eyebrows and tries to stand up.

"Nope."

She sighs and gives in. They lie in some more. Tsk, my lazy brother infecting the human with his idleness. I look around. Mettaton and I appear to be on the opposite sides of the bed that we started on but apart from that, it's a normal morning for the Great Papyrus! I stand up and step over Mettaton. My bones feel a little grubby, I'll have a shower! I step into the bathroom and lock the door. The shower water is warm- according to the thermometer, though I can't feel how warm it is because I don't have skin! That would be weird!- the liquid drips down my battle body and pools down the drain. I peer over at all the fancy hair products. I pick one labelled 'coconut milk' because milk is good for your bones and spread it on my fabulous head. I dab it behind my non-existent ears and wash it all out. I hum a melodious tune worthy of an orchestra.

' _Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh, nyeh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh...'_

Eventually, I turn the shower off and dry my bones. Alphys walks into the room after me along with Undyne. I bound back into the bedroom, Sans is still lying down but Finch managed to convince him to let her get up. She's brushing her hair with a comb. Undyne tied it up so exquisitely yesterday, the plaiting leaves her long, black hair in waves. Sans talks about her hair a lot, her eyes as well. They're grey. I look over at Mettaton and blush. He's oiling his shiny legs.

"H-HI METTATON," I exclaim bashfully.

"Hello Papyrus," he smiles back.

"Are you two gonna propose or what?" Undyne pokes her head out.

"I-" I break down. "ALAS, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS LOST THE BATTLE OF PASSION, AND SO- WITH BITTERSWEETNESS IN MY BONES- I ASK METTATON, AS AN ADMIRER OF YOUR GREATNESS, (THOUGH NOT AS GREAT AS I) WILL YOU GO ON A DATE WITH ME?"

He smiles and nods.

"Of course darling, how could I say no to you? What do you take me for? A heartless rectangle with legs?"

"Certainly not after your anime reboot," Alphys smirks, referring to Mettaton's new EX form. "Anyway, Frisk," she takes the young human's hand. "I think I'll get you home now. Undyne? You coming?"

Undyne nods and they leave the room waving.

"I'm gonna get back home," Sans beckons over Finch and she sits next to him. "Do you wanna stay and have your date with Mettaton?"

"I THINK THAT WOULD BE BEST," I decide.

He nods and says to Mettaton

"If you taint him, you're gonna have a bad time."

And with that, he teleports off with Finch.

"I'll just be in my room..." Blooky says gloomily.

"So Papy dear," Mettaton smiles. "What would you like to do?"

"CAN YOU MAKE SPAGHETTI?" I blurt out.

"Well, yes, it's not that hard..." he replies.

"WOWIE!" I beam. "THEN IT'S DECIDED: NOT ONLY WILL WE MAKE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI TOGETHER, WE'LL EVEN MAKE MORE-THAN-FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!"

"Whatever you say sweetheart," he chuckles.

"LET THE COOKING COMMENCE!

NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"


	24. Undernet

**Undernet (Kind of a POV I guess...)**

 **-Group chat successfully created-**

 **StrongFish: Heya punks!**

 **LegsSoHot: Hello darling.**

 **StrongFish: Mettaton?**

 **LegsSoHot: The one and only.**

 **PunMaster: nice name.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: I AGREE!**

 **Weeaboo: Is it true that you two are dating now?**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: WHY YES!**

 **Weeaboo: Yaayy! Squeeeee!**

 **DapperBlook: I suppose I'm the only one who doesn't have a partner. I'm lonely.**

 **DapperBlook: Oooooh... I didn't mean it like that, sorry. I just made this awkward.**

 **GoatMum: It's quite all right my child.**

 **GoatDad: Besides, Frisk is lonely too!**

 **FriskyPants: Dad!**

 **GoatDad: I speak nothing but the truth.**

 **FinchFace: Did anyone choose a serious username?**

 **LegsSoHot: Of course not.**

 **FriskyPants: No!**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: I AM ENTIRELY SERIOUS.**

 **StrongFish: Yeah... no.**

 **Weeaboo: I don't think so.**

 **PunMaster: nope.**

 **FinchFace: What now?**

 **FriskyPants: Let's sing a song!**

 **StrongFish: Ok.**

 **GoatDad: CRAWLING IN MY SKIN.**

 **Weeaboo: THESE WOUNDS THEY WILL NOT HEAL.**

 **DapperBlook: FEAR IS HOW I FALL.**

 **PunMaster: CONFUSING WHAT IS REAL.**

 **FinchFace: ...**

 **GoatMum: Ooh! I think I'll look that up on ITunes!**

 **StrongFish: Ok... so, never have I ever?**

 **LegsSoHot: Ooh! Let me start! Never have I ever climbed a tree.**

 **PunMaster: guilty.**

 **StrongFish: Guilty.**

 **FriskyPants: Guilty.**

 **FinchFace: Guilty.**

 **Weeaboo: My turn, never have I ever killed someone.**

 **GoatDad: Guilty.**

 **PunMaster: guilty.**

 **StrongFish: Guilty.**

 **FriskyPants: Guilty.**

 **GoatMum: FRISK!**

 **FriskyPants: Just kidding C:**

 **StrongFish: Never have I ever made a snowman.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: GUILTY.**

 **PunMaster: guilty.**

 **FriskyPants: Guilty.**

 **FinchFace: Guilty.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: NEVER HAVE I EVER DIED.**

 **FriskyPants: Guilty.**

 **LegsSoHot: What?!**

 **FriskyPants: Don't ask.**

 **GoatMum: Never have I ever flirted with my parents.**

 **FriskyPants: Guilty.**

 **DapperBlook: Guilty.**

 **LegsSoHot: Blooky, explain.**

 **DapperBlook: I had a strange childhood.**

 **FriskyPants: Never have I ever been stabbed by a gang in the middle of the night.**

 **FinchFace: It might just be my imagination, but I feel like this one is aimed at me.**

 **PunMaster: nah. you're just crazy.**

 **FinchFace: FIGHT ME.**

 **PunMaster: do you wanna have a bad time?**

 **StrongFish: Now that you two are a couple, having a 'bad time' seems suggestive.**

 **LegsSoHot: No, that's just your dirty mind hun.**

 **StrongFish: FIGHT ME.**

 **PunMaster: never have i ever burnt water.**

 **FinchFace: How is that even-**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: GUILTY.**

 **StrongFish: Guilty.**

 **FinchFace: I stand corrected.**

 **DapperBlook: Never have I ever lost a family member.**

 **GoatMum: Guilty.**

 **GoatDad: Guilty.**

 **FinchFace: Guilty.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: GUILTY.**

 **PunMaster: guilty.**

 **FinchFace: Never have I ever been in the underground.**

 **PunMaster: Kitten, we're all guilty of that.**

 **FinchFace: That's the point.**

 **Weeaboo: OH MY MEW MEW! DID YOU JUST CALL HER 'KITTEN?!'**

 **PunMaster: did i? whoops. that's embarrassing.**

 **Weeaboo: Ok Ima go write some fanfic. See you soon!**

 **-Weeaboo is offline-**

 **PunMaster: welp, that was interesting. i'll ketchup with y'all later.**

 **-LegsSoHot, GoatDad, GoatMum, StrongFish, THEGREATPAPYRUS, FriskyPants, FinchFace and DapperBlook are offline-**

 **PunMaster: tough crowd.**

 **-PunMaster is offline-**


	25. Trouble Seems To Follow You

**Sans POV**

"And then the doctor said," I tell Alphys as we walk into town. "I know! I amputated your arms!"

She snorts pitifully and we step into the corner store. Papy's birthday is coming up soon, though he isn't hard to buy for. He finds use out of everything. We poke about the shelves and walk out having bought some edible glitter for his spaghetti, a mirror, an umbrella with a picture of a sheep on it and a few children's books.

"I'm going to head back now," she takes the bags. "Want me to drop your stuff off?"

I nod.

"Hide it in my room. See ya."

"Bye," she waves and walks off.

I decide to walk over to Grillby's. I'm pretty hungry. I walk through the square, down an alleyway and into the corner square. My arms drop out of my pockets, my eye sockets black.

"No..." a small whisper escapes my throat.

"Just get the hell out of the way and _you_ won't get hurt," a bearded man growls at Finch in the middle of a crowd. "I'm afraid I can't say the same thing about your little _friend_ over there."

"Leave him alone prick," she snarls.

Monster Kid cowers behind her.

"I'll give you ten seconds monster lover," he glares. "Ten seconds to step aside and let me carve a lesson into its dumb little face."

"Sorry asshat," she grins. "Looks like you're out of luck."

The man lets out a small roar of frustration. He strikes forward at Finch, she pushes Monster Kid behind her and dodges. Monster Kid runs away and she blows her hair out of her eyes. He launches forward again. She stumbles out of the way, he hits her before she can prepare herself and she protects her face with her arms. She lets out a hiss and glares at him. She swipes forward and opens a cut in his face with her sharp nails. He curses loudly and the crowd goes silent. He swings blindly forward, furious out of his mind. She manages to dodge a few hits, block another, but she's knocked down and blood rolls down her cheek. She gasps and rolls to the side as the man aims an attack at her. His fist meets the concrete and he cries out. He turns to Finch and pulls out a knife. She leaps to her feet and jogs backwards, but another man behind her stops her from moving any further. I watch her eyes widening as she's approached by the armed gang member. He chuckles darkly and twiddles the knife in his fingers. He opens a small gash in her shoulder, then another. She gasps in pain. He brings it down deeper. She lets out a shriek. My sense is knocked back into me and I sprint towards her. I shove the man out of the way and lift the other one up with soul magic. He clings onto Finch but I burn him with a Gaster Blaster.

"ARGH!" He yells. "DAMN YOU FREAKS!"

"Come on," I hiss at Finch.

She doesn't move.

" _Come on!"_

Instead she walks up to the first man and punches him across the face. He grabs her neck but she bites him.

"AH! You savage freaking animal!"

She hisses at him and then gives him a kick for good measure. I grab her hand and drag her away from the crowd. I raise her up with soul magic and run out of the area. She drifts along beside me. I stop and grab her. We teleport home.

"You fearless idiot!" I glare at her.

She furrows her actually real eyebrows.

"If you thought I was going to let that monster child die, you're the idiot."

I sigh and take her to the bathroom. I remove her shirt and she shivers with only her underwear to warm her chest. I grab a flannel and run it under the hot water.

"Hold still."

I clean the gashes in her face and her shoulders. She shudders but bears the pain through her teeth. I take out a bandage and wrap it around her shoulder. I remove the one on her chest. The stab wound looks like it'll be ok from here. The bruising on her ribs has calmed down a little as well. That's good. I still feel so bad for hurting her.

"Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go," I sigh.

She puts her shirt back on and we stare into each other's eyes for a while. I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear and run my fingers across the cut on her cheek. I should have killed that man. I should have killed every one of them. She can see the anger in my face and she speaks softly.

"I owe you big time, what with the amount of times you've saved my life."

I chuckle, a mischievous thought cartwheeling through my mind.

"Hey!" She looks flustered. "I meant that completely innocently- did you think- I didn't- you-"

"Aw," I grin, ruffling up her hair. "You're so cute when you blush."

"I am _not_ cute," she folds her arms... cutely.

"I'd beg to differ."

"I'm not!"

"Ok little tsundere," I smirk.

"What, sadodere?" She glares.

Oh man, Alphys would be proud.

"I'm afraid you plead guilty," I cuff her wrists together with my right hand. "You are going to the solitary confinement for cute bakas."

"You're such a dork," she laughs.

" _I'm_ a dork?"

"Yeah," she sticks her tongue out.

"Well in that case, you're a nerd," I create a tongue and stick it out at her.

"Woah..." she gasps.

"What?" I ask. "I thought you knew I could do that since when I kissed you a while back."

"Yeah," she blushes. "It's just..."

"Aw," I pinch her cheek. "Is little baka feeling a little bashful?"

"I swear to every type of dere there is!" She exclaims.

I can't cope with this much adorableness. I need to release it somehow. I smile and gently kiss her cheek. She blushes more (so her face is basically a black-haired strawberry right now) and hugs me.

"When will I ever stop owing you?"

"Well," I take my face away from hers. "There is one favour I'd like to ask."

"Sure," she says sceptically. "But it better not be anything dirty or I'll shove the soap down your throat!"

I chuckle.

"Move in with me."

She looks up, surprised. I can't tell if it's a good surprised or a bad surprised. I fiddle with my knees anxiously.

"Sans-" she's lost for words. "I didn't- you- well of course, duh!"

I breathe out a relieved breath that I didn't realise I was holding in and hug her.

"Great, I'll get you a new key tomorrow, and we'll start moving your stuff in."

"I can't wait," she grins.

"Oh but one more thing," I say sternly.

"Yes?" She asks.


	26. Shower Puns

**Finch POV**

"What?!" I exclaim.

"I said," his voice is blunt. "You're not allowed to leave the house without supervision."

"Why not?!"

"You've been attacked with knives like, let me see now..." he pauses. "Three times now, for your own safety, you have to go outside with someone else."

"But-" I scowl.

He's right. I can't argue with him.

"No buts," he puts a bony finger to my lips. "If you so much as try to leave the house on your own, I'll-" he pauses, mischief glinting in his eyes but he ignores it. "I'll lock you down in the basement like a yandere or something."

I ponder about the fairness of his rule.

"Alright," I decide. "Urgh... I feel gross."

"Want to have a shower?" He asks.

"Sounds nice," I imagine the warm water.

"Cool, go on then: strip," he commands.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"We're going to have a shower."

I blush madly and he smirks.

"You're too pure for this world."

"Fine," I scowl. "But I'm leaving my underwear on."

"Ok," he shrugs.

He helps me out of my shirt and jeans, putting my bandage to the side and I command him to shut his eyes. He does so reluctantly and I look awkwardly down at my body. It's skinny to the point where I look like a skeleton wearing skin that's too tight for them. You can see each of my ribs. It doesn't help that my wrists are covered in scars. I look like death. I try to hide a sigh. Well, it's not like Sans isn't already worried.

"Ok," I say eventually.

He opens his eyes and sure enough, I watch them narrow as he views my damaged body. He doesn't comment on it and instead begins taking his hoodie off. He takes off the white shirt underneath and looks up at me.

"Mind helping me out of my shorts?"

"Really?" I flush. "You're completely capable of doing that yourself."

"But I helped you out of _your_ clothes!"

I scowl.

"Come on," He takes my hand and guides it to the waistband of his shorts. "Are you telling me that you haven't had some sort of fantasy of undressing me?"

I glare and look away as he places my hands on his shorts and slowly pulls them down. My knuckles brush against the bone of his pelvis and I begin to get a headache from all this blushing. I pull my hand away quickly when he releases it and he chuckles.

"Was it really that hard?"

I take a nervous look at him and I'm relieved to see that he hasn't manifested a... **(*ahem...)** out of freaking space dust or whatever like he does with a tongue. His body's just that of a skeleton, like one of the ones you see in a school science classroom.

"What?" He asks playfully. "What were you expecting?"

"Shut up," I can't hold back a small smile.

I untie my hair and it falls in locks around my head. Sans switches on the shower and we step inside. I was expecting it to be awkward, but to be honest, we had a great time. We splashed each other and made bad puns about soap. I almost slipped and hit my head on the wall but he caught me and told me to 'not get in bubble trouble,' to which I informed him that was a awful pun and now he'd better make a 'clean getaway.'

We're terrible.

"Do you ever sing in the shower?" He asks.

"Nah," I shrug. "I'm not that good at singing."

"Well," he shrugs. "Singing in the shower is pretty great until you get shampoo in your mouth, then it's more of a soap opera."

"Where about on Google did you find that?" I look at him unimpressed.

"Uh," he grins. "Let's not talk about my Google search history..."

"Ew," I wrinkle my nose.

"Well I'm not dirty anymore," he indicates to the soap and the questionably half-used shampoo on the windowsill.

"Haha," I smile and say sarcastically. "You're hilarious."

"So you could say I-" he starts.

"NOPE," I stop him. "NO MORE SHOWER PUNS, WE'RE GETTING OUT NOW."

He laughs and turns the shower off. We step out and dry ourselves off. He puts his clothes on and I walk upstairs to change my underwear and get some clothes on. Sans comes in when I tell him I'm dressed and he strokes my hair for a bit.

"Goodnight," I crawl onto mattress.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asks.

"To my bed..." I say, confused.

"You mean that old thing?" He pats the space next to him. "Come on, there's plenty of room in here."

I grin and slip under the sheets next to him. We lie in each other's arms and sleep peacefully.


	27. Working Off That Tab

**Grillby POV**

Sans takes the plate from my hands and hands it over to the monster in the back of the room with a hangover. Finch takes the orders of a couple giggling girls who appear to have dared each other to come here. I watch her face flush with suppressed anger- they probably said something racist- and she continues to take their orders. She applied for a job here, Sans told me how tight for money she was: working from home in an old radio tower. At first I was sceptical when Sans told me he was in love with a human, but seeing them together makes me wonder how there was ever a moment where they weren't interested in each other. A few weeks later and Sans told me that they were officially a couple and now he says that she's moving in with him. I'm proud of him. I've known him since he was very young, I was friends with his father- though no one seems to remember the man- and he always comes to me when he's feeling down. Now he's working off his tab. I'm too nice to him. If I had any sense, I'd refuse to let him so much as enter this building before he pays it off. Finch is nice. She's a badass and an outcast, but she's nice. Apparently she's pretty high on that Pandilla gang's hitlist. Sans told me that they met when she was stabbed and dying on the side of the road. I was the one that convinced him to finally ask her out, it was partly because I wanted him to and partly because I wanted him to stop going on about how much he liked her. Finch walks over to me.

"A vegan burger with fries and a chicken meal with those sweet potato fries you do," she says tiredly.

I nod and walk into the kitchen to cook up the meal. Everything's vegan nowadays... not that there's anything wrong with it, most vegans are completely ordinary and quiet about it. It's just those annoying few who preach about it to anyone in the vicinity eating a chicken nugget. I put the meals on plates and hand them to Finch. She's chatting casually with Sans. She thanks me and takes them to the girls. Sans tells me the order.

"Just a burger with mayonnaise," he leans on the counter. "I personally prefer ketchup, but I won't judge."

I walk off to the kitchen and bring him back the burger. He salutes me and brings the burger back to the table. Finch takes the little pin machine thingy from the counter and takes it to a table of people ready to leave. She comes back with the machine and some change. She puts it down and passes me the money. I put it in the cash register and step out from behind it. I flip the sign reading 'open' around and walk back to her.

"We'll just wait for these people to finish up," I tell her.

She nods. Soon enough, one by one everyone finished their food, pays and leaves.

"And we're done for the day," I mutter as the last fish monster leaves.

I walk over to the register and pay them for their shifts.

"I'll close up the place now," I take out a cloth, a spray bottle of Detol and some Febreeze- teens always leave this place smelling of BO- and set to work on one of the tables.

"Bye," Finch waves.

"See ya Grillbz," Sans grins.

The faint tingling of the bell tells me that they've left and I watch them walk off down the road. I should get back to my daughter soon, she doesn't usually like it when I get home after ten.


	28. BIRTHDAY OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS

**Finch POV**

"A b-beach p-party?" I stutter.

"Yeah!" Undyne grins. "It's gonna be hella cool!"

I knew Papy was having a birthday party, but the sound of a beach party horrifies me. People running about in little to no clothes- their bodies on show for everyone to see- kicking sand at each other and getting salt in their food. Why does it have to be a beach party?

"Finch?" Undyne asks.

My ears ring.

"Hello? Earth to Finch?"

I snap back to the present and sweat nervously.

"Sorry, spaced out for a moment... it sounds great!"

"Wicked!" She beams and grabs her stuff to go out the door. "The skelebros will be at my house, Frisk will stay with you."

"Ok."

The door slams excitedly shut and my pulse rings in my ears.

 **(From this point onwards, Frisk suddenly isn't mute... I was reading back through the story and I noticed the inconsistency :/ Sorry!)**

"You ready to head out?" Frisk asks, making me jump.

"Yup!"

I'm using the money that I've saved to buy a swimming costume, I can swim of course- Dad used to say that fish shouldn't get to have all the fun- but I always did it in the lake in the forest in my underwear. We step outside and walk into town. Sans sent Frisk to accompany me out of the house, I guess he's serious about the new rule. I make sure to avoid every place which I've been stabbed in before and eventually we make it to a sports shop. We look around but we're only met by revealing bikinis and name brand swimsuits. I don't bother any longer with that shop. We walk out and I feel defeated.

"What now?"

"Well, there's always that shop that sells random steampunky junk where Alphys got you that outfit!" She remembers.

It takes us fifteen minutes to even find the obscure little shop. It's hidden in an alleyway, a beautiful display in the window. 'The Isolated Sprite.' As I push open the door, an old bell tingles.

"Hello," an old man sitting at a desk waves.

I wave back. The shop is only one room big, it looks like a family-run business. A small puppy scampers around at our feet, free roaming through the shop.

"Don't mind him," the man smiles. "Just give him a poke if he tries to eat your shoes."

We look around. The walls are lined with various jewellery and gemstones, some chimes hang from the ceiling. A masquerade mask sits on the wall next to a feather boa. We walk over to a rack of old, gothic looking clothing.

"Is there anything specific you're looking for?" He asks.

"By any chance," I reply. "Do you happen to have any swimwear?"

"You might be the luckiest person I've ever met because look what came in the stock arrival this morning," he beckons me to follow him.

He takes me into a room behind the shop one, the one with his desk where I suppose he fixes and adapts products, and opens a cardboard box. There's a range of steampunk styled clothing, but at the bottom he pulls out a swimsuit and goggles. The goggles are those steampunk goggles you always see on the foreheads of people in old, post-apocalyptic movies, only they're adapted to be water-tight and so they work as swimming goggles. The swimsuit is copper brown with one of those ribbony-things you see on the school uniform of every anime girl ever in a parchment colour. It has small trunks on it instead of a leotard design so it covers your entire crotch area. The straps are normal with tiny little chains sewn into them. Cogs, chains and clocks are printed onto the design in different shades of copper and silver. The fabric is interwoven across each other to give it a hand-sewn patchwork effect.

"Is this what you're looking for?" He asks.

I nod.

"The swimsuit's thirty pounds, I'll give you the goggles as a freebie," he winks.

I thank him enthusiastically and pay for the clothes. We rush out of the shop and Frisk beams.

"What are the odds?" She squeals.

"I don't even know," I breathe.

"Race ya home!"

"Oh no you don't!" I exclaim, chasing her.

We reach the house exhausted and panting.

"I win!" She grins.

"That's only because you tricked me into thinking you were hurt," I glare. "Then you ran off."

"And I win!"

I laugh and give her a small push.

"Go on you little cheat, pop on your swimsuit under your clothes now."

She rushes off and I step into the bathroom. I put on the swimming costume, it's a good fit. Somehow, it looks even better on my small frame than it did in the shop. I look like one of those badass anime girls. I take the bandages off of my shoulder, deciding that the wound isn't that deep. I put the goggles on my forehead, now I look even more like an anime character, and frown at the scars on my wrists. Has Papy ever seen them? I don't want to make him worry and ruin his day. Oh well, there isn't really much I can do. I put my long-sleeved black and white striped shirt on and slide into an old pair of shorts I made from some grey jeans. The summer afternoons are cruel and so I couldn't live in my jeans forever. I put on my old trainers, I'll probably end up taking them off anyway, and then the hoodie with the denim sleeves that Sans got me. I look normal now, aside from the steampunk goggles on my forehead, but they look awesome. I walk out of the room to a very over-excited Frisk. She has her purple and blue stripy leotard swimsuit on under a skirt and a vest-top. She has little sandals on with faces she drew on the straps which make me smile. We wait for Mettaton to come and give us a lift. Alphys edited his body specifically to allow a passage for sand to just slip out instead of messing with the machinery. He still isn't waterproof though. Soon enough, he pulls up in Sans's driveway and honks the horn of a car which I don't know the name off. Grabbing Papyrus's birthday present, our towels and some spare clothes, I pick up a giggling Frisk in my arms and sprint out of the door. We get in the car. It reeks of fancy. Mettaton sits in the driver's seat and a gloomy, though still appreciative to be here, Blooky occupies the passenger seat. Neither of them are wearing anything outside of their ordinary bodies as one: they're both ghosts and two: they're both fabulous no matter what they wear. Some pop music plays through the radio and I grit my teeth. The song ends and Blooky looks at me.

"Song suggestions?"

Twenty one pilots?" I pipe up.

He fiddles the buttons and soon the song 'Ride' is blaring out of the speakers. The only thing I remember about the journey is

SO I'M TAKING MY TIME ON MY

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!

The car stops and my heart skips a beat. I walk out, my legs weak, and Frisk jumps out behind me. The beach is pretty beautiful. It's a long strip of sand going for miles by the sea, it looks like it's heavily populated with people but this area is quite lonesome of people. We make our way down the rocky cliff face. Frisk is afraid of falling, she stands with her legs locked in place on the edge of it. I allow her a piggyback ride as I climb down. I'm used to climbing- I do it an awful lot- and we're at the bottom in no time. Mettaton follows and Napstablook floats behind us.

"HELLO!" Papyrus beams at us.

I place our stuff on the picnic mat they've set up on the sand along with some windshields. Frisk holds up Papyrus's present and I get mine for him out of the bag.

"WOWIE!" He grins. "THAT IS VERY KIND OF YOU TINY HUMAN! AND YOU, SLIGHTLY TALLER HUMAN!"

Frisk giggles and Asgore asks

"Is that everyone?"

We nod and Papyrus sets to the pile of presents he's gathered.

"LET'S START WITH THE GREAT DR ALPHYS'S PRESENT!" He peels off the wrapping and smiles so widely his skull threatens to crack. "WOWIE! EDIBLE GLITTER AND A SHEEP UMBRELLA! I HAVE SO MANY COMPLETELY PRACTICAL PURPOSES FOR THESE!"

He opens some more and ends up with a mirror reading 'best brother ever' and some children's books from Sans, a recipe book from Asgore and Toriel, a gym membership from Undyne, a goodie-bag of chocolates, soaps and MTT brand bone colones from Mettaton, some Bluetooth headphones to listen to his music while working out from Napstablook and a colouring in book and a pack of crayons from Frisk.

"NOW LASTLY, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEASTLY," he grins. "THE TALL HUMAN'S EXQUISITELY WRAPPED GIFT!"

He rips open the present that I gave him. It's a photo album. One of the pages is already filled in with images of each of us, then one of us all at the bottom.

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH," he sheds a single pseudo tear. "I WILL BE SURE TO FILL THIS WITH NOSTALGIC MEMORIES OF US!"

He packs away his new stuff in bags and declares

"WHO'S READY FOR SOME SWIMMING, OR LOUNGING SEXILY IN THE SUN DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU'RE WATERPROOF OR NOT?"

Everyone cheers and giggles at the innocent Papyrus. People start to take off their over-clothes and my stomach flips over. Ok Finch... it's just a few scars... they already know that you're pretty messed up anyway...

I step out of my clothes and shiver despite the warmth in my new swimming costume. No one says anything, being too busy taking off their own clothes to notice, and I breathe out a small sigh of relief. Undyne walks up to me. She's wearing a blue bikini with little red fish on it.

"Neat costume!" She grins.

I thank her and Alphys approaches us. She's wearing an outfit not unlike Undyne's, only black with white polka dots instead. Toriel and Asgore wear Hawaiian shirts and shorts, I suppose they're not planning on swimming, and Papyrus takes off his gloves and boots, apparently going to swim in his clothes.

"I like the goggles," Alphys smiles. "Did you get them from that shop I told you about?"

I nod and Frisk runs up to them. They chat enthusiastically with her and I realise that I'm subconsciously hiding my arms behind my back. I walk over to the cliff, it's mossy from when the tide comes in late at night and little seashells are stuck in the cracks. I trace my fingers over them curiously. I wonder how it must feel; being stuck in the dark, in plain view of all the fun and adventure of the ocean but ultimately trapped, just out of reach. I can sort of relate.

"Hey kitten," a voice from behind me makes my jump.

"Hi."

"I know you're nervous," he puts a hand on my shoulder. "But putting your scars- internal and external- out for everyone to see is the first step to accepting yourself."

"I know, it's just-" I turn around and stop dead in my tracks.

Sans is wearing a pair of black swimming trunks that reach the space above his knees, but nothing else. His rib cage, clavicles, tibias all down to the tips of his pelvis are exposed. I can't stop a stubborn blush from painting my face, like it always does in moments like this.

"What?" He chuckles. "Did you expect me to swim in all my clothes like Paps?"

I scowl at myself and at him, the teasing bastard, before he takes my arm and leads me back towards the others.

"I WILL LOUNGE SEXILY WITH YOU SHORTLY," Papyrus kisses Mettaton on the cheek and goes on. "BUT FIRST I WILL SWIM WITH THE TINY HUMAN!" He hoists Frisk onto his shoulders and runs of towards the sea. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

"Hey Papyrus!" Undyne calls. "Wait up!"

"I'm coming Undyne!" Alphys calls after them, running after them.

Sans and I walk a few steps.

"Sans..." I say.

"Yes?" He asks.

"TAG."

I tag him and sprint off ahead towards the sea.

"Get back here you little mink!" He calls after me. "You're in for it now!"

I laugh and he pursues me. He begins to catch up so I increase my pace. I leap over little pools of seawater in the sand and splash closer and closer towards the sea.

"When I get my hands on you-!" He huffs.

I snigger and continue to run away. The ocean is ever nearer. I've almost made it. Suddenly, in that space of soft sand that isn't wet like the sand right in front of the sea but isn't dry and rocky like that space by the cliffs, he manages to catch up. He grabs me and I tumble forwards. We roll over in the sand and eventually I'm lying on my stomach while he sits on my back, preventing my movement.

"Gotcha," he grins.

I smile and he lifts me out of the sand, waking me across the small distance to the sea.

"Aand," he drops me in front of the waves and cold water rolls over my body. "Revenge."

I yelp and scramble to stand up. I trip over my own feet and and up on my hands and knees in the water. He laughs and helps me up. We walk into the water, it's actually quite warm when you get used to it, and we stare at the rolling waves to avoid watching Alphys and Undyne kissing passionately ahead of us. The salt water stings a little on the wounds of my shoulders, but I'll get used to it. Sea air is good for wounds like mine. Alphys and Undyne finish up so we head deeper into the water.

"Ready?" He asks when the water reaches our waists.

I pull my goggles down over my face and nod. We plunge down into the water and swim along the bottom. The seashells and coral shimmers under the sunlight and I let out an underwater squeal as a shoal of fish swim past us. I take a breath above the water and head back down. Any worries I had previously about my scars or my body vanish as I feel a childlike rush filled with adrenaline boost through me. Sans looks at me like you would at a little puppy seeing snow for the first time. He chuckles at the noises of awe that escape my mouth and grins at my expression.

"Have you ever swam in the ocean before?" He asks.

"No," I shake my head. "Just lakes."

Papyrus swims towards us with Frisk in his head and the others soon follow. We play tag and other games in the water, I needn't worry about anyone seeing my scars of malnourished body due to the camouflage of the shimmering water.

"THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" Papyrus squeals.

I can't help but agree with him.


	29. Truth Or Dare

**Sans POV**

We swim around in the warm water. Papy goes to lie sexily with Mettaton, I'm sorta getting used to their relationship now.

"TAG!" Undyne manages to tag Frisk.

We swim backwards as she kicks towards us. She lurches towards Finch, who dodges.

"Nice try," she chuckles.

Frisk sticks her tongue out in frustration and pursues Finch. I grin as she pretends to trip, letting Frisk tag her. She turns, seeking out her next victim. Her eyes lock onto Undyne. She smiles wickedly and dives into the water. Undyne wades away frantically, her legs slow under the thick water. Finch surfaces and grabs Undyne's leg.

"Tag!"

Undyne laughs.

"Ok I'm bored of tag, who wants to play spin the bottle on the beach?"

There's an overall cheer from everyone. Finch seems a little hesitant to leave the water and risk drawing attention to all those awful cuts on her wrists. She takes her goggles off of her eyes and lets them rest on her forehead. We swim out of the water and sit in a circle on the sand.

"Hey losers!" Undyne calls to Papy, Blooky and Mettaton. "Get over here! We're playing spin the bottle!"

"Did someone say spin the bottle?" A boy approaches us with a toothy grin.

His friends come up beside him. I don't like the look of them.

"Yeah," Undyne grins back. "If you wimps want to join in then we can't stop you."

The boys join the circle and I frown. I need to keep an eye on them.

"Truth or dare!" Alphys squeals.

I click my fingers and summon that empty ketchup bottle I finished on the way here.

"Here you go," I put it in the middle.

Alphys gives it a spin and it lands on Papyrus.

"MOST PEOPLE CHOOSE DARE," Paps ponders. "SO IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THE EQUALLY GREAT PAYRUS CHOSE A TRUTH TO BE DIFFERENT AND COOL! NYEH HEH HEH!"

A couple of the boys snigger. I keep a close eye on them.

"Ok, so," Alphys thinks of a truth. "Which do you love more, Mettaton or Pasta?"

Papyrus thinks. He thinks and thinks. He thinks some more.

"HM," he decides. "WHY NOT BOTH?"

We come to the agreement that both is a good enough answer. He spins the ketchup bottle, making sure not to get any on his fingers, and it lands on Napstablook.

"NAPSTABLOOK, TRUTH OR DARE?"

"Truth..." the ghost says gloomily.

"WHICH OF THE SNAILS ON YOUR FARM IS YOUR FAVOURITE?"

"Well," he looks at the floor. "I don't really have a favourite, Mr Snailington's nice I guess."

He attempts to spin the bottle but fails due to his lack of arms, or a body. He musters all the breath from his body and exhales on the bottle until it's performed a full 360° spin. It lands on one of the boys.

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

"Uh," Napstablook wracks his brains for a dare. "Choose one of your friends and bury them in the sand."

The boy grabs one of his friends by the neck and shoves him onto the floor. I watch coldly as he roughly shoved his friend onto the sand and begins to bury him. Eventually, his friend is neck deep in sand. He spins the bottle. It lands on Finch.

"Truth or dare?"

"Um," she wants to pick truth but the pressure on her to pick dare weighs in and she says reluctantly "dare."

"Hm," the boy thinks for a second, then retaliates with a wink "gimme a kiss will ya?"

Finch blushes and glares at the boy.

"How about no?"

"'fraid you can't do that princess," the boy smiles.

Finch looks desperate.

"How about you keep your hands off what isn't yours?" I snarl.

"Ooh!" The boy laughs. "Getting a little territorial are we? How about you play by the rules of the game and let me kiss who I want to kiss?"

"How about you shut your mouth and pick another dare or you're gonna have a bad time?" my eyes go black.

"Is that a threat?"

"Maybe."

"Are all monsters this quick to fight?" He asks.

"Will both of you shut up!" Finch glares. "Look," she stands up, stomps over to the boy, grabs his fist and gives one of his knuckles a small peck. She drops his hand, spits on the ground and sits cross-legged back in her space.

She spins the bottle. It lands on Frisk. I feel so- so jealous. There's this need in my blood to grab Finch and keep her in my pocket to show that punk just who's boss around here. I'm not quite used to this sense of dominance, I suppose that's what happens when two Alpha males butt horns. I'm proud of Finch for outsmarting him, yet pissed that he even got a tiny little bit of contact with her. If it were up to me, he'd be dead in the sand by now.

"Truth or dare," she asks, smiling to relieve the tension and assure Frisk that everything will be ok.

"Dare!"

"Play duck duck goose right now!" She gives her a dare right up her alley. Frisk goes around tapping heads.

"Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck," she climbs up Papyrus's shoulders to tap him. "Duck, duck, duck, goose!" She taps Mettaton and starts to run.

"Come back here darling!" He pursues her.

Frisk squeals with giddy excitement. She manages to get back to her space just before Mettaton scoops her up and tickles her. She giggles and he puts her back down. He walks around, tapping people.

"Duck, duck, duck, duck, goose!" He taps Papyrus (predictably) and dashes off around the circle.

He's about to make it but Papy launches forward, tackling him to the ground. They land at my feet.

"Nice one Paps," I grin at him.

"THANK YOU," he beams back.

He taps more heads.

"DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE!"

He naively taps the head of one of the boys and he runs around the circle. In the end, you can hardly call it fair. Papyrus's long strides outnumber that of the boy and he doesn't stand a chance. Papyrus is back in his space in no time and the boy taps peoples' heads.

"Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck," he taps my head a little harder than everyone else's. " _Goose,"_ he turns to Finch with a seductive expression.

I act before I think. I turn his soul blue and send him backwards across the sand.

"Sans-" Finch starts.

I grab her and teleport away. We end up in a cave in one of the cliffs, the waves rolling slowly in and out of it.

"Sans," she repeats.

"How does he think he can hit on you in front of me and walk away unscathed," I scowl.

She sighs and gives me a pained smile.

"I can punch my own idiots," she gives me a soft punch in the arm. "You don't need to protect me."

"But you're so-" I search for the right word. "Breakable."

"I survived being stabbed like, three separate times," she chuckles.

"I know I just- wait-" I grab her wrist. "You have a new cut-! It's fresh! When did you- how did you- Finch!"

She flushes and takes her arm in her hands.

"I'm alright."

"Do you even know what alright means?" I ask.

She doesn't answer.

"You're already not allowed outside without supervision," I pause and then add seriously. "Don't make me consider that yandere basement option."

She forces a small laugh, only slightly sure that I'm joking, and I take back her arm. I put some magic over both her arms.

"Every time you hurt your wrists," I explain. "It'll alert me. Three strikes and I'll lock you up in the basement."

"Sans!" She exclaims. "Why- please, I-"

"It's the best option," I shrug.

She sighs and gives me a small kick.

"Baka..." she mutters.

I chuckle and we sit down in the sand, the waves lapping over our legs like a warm blanket. She rests her head on my shoulder and I stroke her hair. The sun is beginning to start its journey back down. We'll have to go back for lunch soon.

"Uh, Sans," she says nervously.

"Yeah kitten?" I ask.

"Are you serious about that basement thing?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," I grin. "We can't have sempai hurting herself now can we?"

"Saans," she groans.

There's a short silence.

"Seriously though," she says.

"I'm a bit serious about the basement thing," I smile. "Consider it a last resort."

"Right..."


	30. Sand Battle

**Finch POV**

"You done sulking?" Undyne asks Sans as he teleports us back.

"I wasn't just going to stand there while they put their filthy hands on my property," he puts his hands on his hips.

"Are you calling women property?" I ask, the feminist side of me coming out.

"I know, I know," he ruffles my hair. "I don't have complete ownership of you... you think."

I look up at the last comment and he chuckles.

"The boys said they dared each other to try and seduce one of us," Undyne tells me. "They went for you. Just a cheap way to get some kisses."

"Where are they?" I ask coldly.

"They're leaving," she says. "Over there, why?"

I walk towards the group of boys.

"Excuse me," I call to the boy who tried to get a kiss out of me.

He turns around.

"Yes?" He wiggles his eyebrows.

In response, I punch him in the face. He stumbles back, his nose bleeding, and he mutters something to his friends. They back away in what seems to be fear.

"Heh," Sans smirks when I get back. "Guess they didn't know girls could punch that hard."

"I learn from the best," I grin.

"Aw thanks kitte-" he starts.

"I lean from Undyne!" I exclaim, cutting him off.

He **(NO-)** raises **(NO!)** an **(DON'T DO IT!)** _eyebrow_ **(YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!)** and Undyne hoots with laughter.

"Come on losers, let's grab some food."

We move to the picnic blanket and sit down.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS," Papy declares. "HAVE PREPARED MANY DELICACIES! FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI FOR MY FRIENDS, MORE THAN FRIENDS SPAGHETTI FOR METTATON AND ASGORE'S CLONE HAS PREPARED SOME PIE!"

Everyone stacks their plates. I take a small slice of pie and a spoonful of friendship spaghetti. The pie is Butterscotch-Cinnamon, no one can decide which flavour is superior, and it warms my chest, cold from the water. Toriel seems to read my mind.

"Oh dear! You all must be so cold, here- dry off."

She passes our towels around and Sans wraps mine around my shoulders. He pats me on the head and I bear my canines at him- a bad habit. He grins and opens his mouth to reveal his: twice as sharp. Lucky thing that he doesn't have a permanent tongue, he'd have bitten it in half by now. I finish my food and grin at everyone's jokes as they finish theirs.

"SAND FORT CONTEST!" Papyrus declares. "GET INTO ALPHABETICAL ORDER!"

We obey.

"NOW, THE FIRST FIVE PEOPLE ARE ON TEAM ONE, THE OTHER FIVE ARE ON TEAM TWO! NYEH HEH HEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS AN ADEPT PROBLEM SOLVER!"

Alphys, Asgore, Frisk, Mettaton and I go in group one whereas Napstablook, Papyrus, Sans, Toriel and Undyne go in the other.

"AND... GO!"

"Frisk! Asgore! Mettaton!" Alphys declares to our group. "Go dig a hole!"

They set to digging a massive hole.

"Ok Finch," She turns to me. "We need to think analytically, what do you propose?"

"We need walls," I tell her. "Strong, stable, thick walls. We can't defy the laws of physics though so a roof is impossible to do with sand. We could try to get some slate or something for structure!"

"That's a great idea!" She exclaims. "Grab some slate, I'll help with the hole!"

I sprint down the beach over to a large lump of rock. I prise a slab of slate off of it and I'm about to relay it back to the group when Sans pops up from the other side.

"Hiya doll-face," he winks.

"What do you want?" I lower my very real and non-magical eyebrows.

"I'm just here to distract you," he grins.

I open my mouth but he launches a ball of sand at me. I use the slate to block it and sprint back to the base. I drop off the slate and run back to grab more. This relaying of slate lasts for about fifteen minutes, I dodge Sans's attacks along the way.

"Perfect!" Alphys exclaims. "And I think the hole's deep enough too."

Frisk pokes her head out of the deep crater they've made and beams. We start using the excess sand to build up the walls. Soon we have four walls, encasing the hole in a square.

"Finch and Frisk!" Mettaton declares. "Get up there and make a roof!"

Frisk stands on Asgore's shoulders and I stand on Mettaton's. Alphys passes us pieces of slate and we layer them around the edge.

"We need to make a pillar in the middle," I explain. "That way, we can support them."

We dig further down and use the sand to make a pillar in the centre of the fort which reaches all the way up to the top. Frisk and I climb back up and use the pillar as a means of supporting the slate roof. We have some slate left over so we use it to build a little slit in the front wall, as a window and sand-ball throwing place. We lean slabs of slate in front of it so that we can take them down to attack and put them back to defend. Finally, we dig a tunnel up and out of the fort, around the back. We carve foot holes into the slope and seal it off with a slab of slate.

"Now," Asgore says. "We stockpile on amo."

One by one, we exit the fort through the tunnel and grab heaps of sand. Frisk takes a large shell and runs down to the sea. She comes back with water, we pour it over the sand pile to make it mouldable. We make sand-balls to throw.

"READY?" Papyrus asks from the other team. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH! TEAM FRISK WILL NEVER STAND A CHANCE AGAINST TEAM PAPYRUS'S DEFENCES!"

I peer out from behind one of the slate slabs of the window. They don't have a roof, but their fort is tall and lined thick with seashells. A sand Papyrus sits majestically beside it. A lump of sand with the word 'Sans' written on it in red marker sits meekly beside it.

"Yeah right!" Frisk grins. "Our construction is way superior!"

"NYEH HEH HEH," Papyrus beams. "WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT TINY HUMAN! READY, GET SET, FIRE!"

We put our goggles over our eyes to stop sand from getting in them and set to work. Mettaton removes one of the slate pieces and lobs a sandball high so that it lands in their fort. He over-shoots and it goes too high.

"Watch out!" I call to Mettaton.

He quickly replaces the space with slate just as a sandball hits it. Frisk squeals with delight and takes another space at the wall. She keeps a constant fire. A sand ball narrowly misses her head and it slams into the pillar behind her. I rush over to Alphys to talk strategy.

"We need a safe-room," I point out. "In case the pillar gets destroyed. This whole thing could cave in and the slate could come down."

"Good idea," she nods.

We dig through one of the back walls, like we did when creating the tunnel, and smooth out a small expanse of safety. We use the last piece of slate as a doorway. We put it on the inside of the room on the floor so that we don't have to open in when rushing inside.

"Ack!" I hear Frisk cough.

I jog over to her. She spits sand and gives me a toothy grin.

"We need more amo!" Asgore declares.

"You get the water," Alphys tells me, thrusting the shell into my hands. "I'll get the sand."

I nod and sprint out of the fort. I leg it down to the sea, the sound of a pursuer only making me run faster. I scoop up some seawater and run past Papyrus, who is chasing me, and back inside the fort. I pour the water over the sand.

"You two will have to keep going," Mettaton tells us. "We need a constant supply."

I nod and sprint back down to the sea. Again, Papyrus pursues me. I try to think smarter, not harder, and run in zigzags, choosing paths with obstacles because he might be faster than me, but I know I'm more agile. I retrieve the seawater and run back to the fort. I pour it over again. This is a good idea, our sandballs keep their shape whereas team Papyrus's sometimes fall apart in mid air, spraying the area with sand. I run back and forth to the sea multiple times. Alphys gathers sand. The pillar in the middle has taken a few hits, but not that many. I grab the shell and run out of the tunnel. My legs are getting a little tired, but pure adrenaline and excitement keeps me going. I dodge Papyrus and his attacks, jumping over a lump of sand and skidding around a lump of rock. I stumble on my way out of the skid and I lose some precious seconds. I regain my balance and I'm about to keep running when a pair of arms locking me to the ground make me jump and let out a yelp.

"GOT YOU! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus declares.

The water spills over my legs and I toss it into the sea so he can't take it. He drags me to his base and pushes me through a little doorway in the back.

"LOOK TEAM! I HAVE CAPTURED THE TALL HUMAN!"

They grin and Papyrus takes me to one of the walls and carved a little hole. He pins my arms behind my back and puts them through the hole. He builds up the wall around it. The weight of the wall prevents my movement. It's surprisingly effective.

"Keep going!" I hear Alphys yell to the team.

I'll get back to them somehow.

"Hiya prisoner," Sans grins. "You're in a bit of a... sticky situation."

He takes out a stick and prods me with it.

"WHO WILL BE THE HUMAN WATCHER?" Papyrus asks.

"I got this," Sans winks at him.

He turns back around to me and pokes me some more. I kick him in the shins.

"Hey Undyne," he says. "Gimme a hand real quick."

She walks over and Sans lifts my legs up with magic. They dig underneath my feet and he puts me back down into the hole. They pile up the sand above my feet. _Great._ Now I can't move my hands or my legs. I squirm and try to pull myself loose but to no avail.

"Aw," Sans grins. "Is the little kitten a bit stuck?"

I stick my tongue out at him and glare.

"SANS!" Papyrus calls him over. "YOUR HELP IS REQUIRED!"

"Tori," he tells Toriel. "Watch the pet for a little will you?"

She nods and walks over to me.

"Hello my child," she smiles.

"Can you let me out?" I ask.

"I'm afraid not," she chuckles. "I am really eager to beat Asgore."

I smirk and she chats happily to me before Sans comes back.

"I've gotta get some information from you," he winks. "The boss told me to go to any lengths to get it out of you. So, what's the base like?"

I keep quiet.

"Heh, thought not. Let me try again." He lowers his voice to a seductive purr. "What's the base like?"

"No-!" I squirm. "Sans, stop-!"

"I knew it'd make you nervous," he grins. "Guess that means it's working. So," he lowers his voice again. "What's it like?"

"Made of sand," I say sarcastically.

"Mm..." he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Tricky are you? I like a challenge..."

"Stop," I wriggle uncomfortably, feeling vulnerable with my hands behind my back.

"I'll ask you one more time," he leans closer to my face. "What's the base like?"

I screw my eyes shut and shiver. He chuckles slowly, deeply, frighteningly.

"Ok then."

He slams his hands into the wall behind me, one either side of my face. He leans in close and I feel his artificial breath trickling down my neck. One of his eyes is a light blue colour.

"Bad pets need to be puni-" he starts.

He probably hit the wall a little too hard as it begins to teeter. It falls backwards and I fall with it. My legs and arms are free and I scramble to my feet.

"Get back here pet!" Sans yells from the floor.

I sprint away from the hole in the wall and run back to team Frisk.

"Finch!" Alphys exclaims. "You escaped!"

"Yup," I nod.

"We need someone to get the water, but it'd be too dangerous putting you back out there," she frowns.

"I'll go with her!" Frisk smiles. "We can go together! Mettaton and Asgore can throw the sand."

"Ok," Alphys nods. "It's worth a shot."

We grab a shell on the way out, we could've got one each, but we decide that we need one person to take watch while the other fills it up. We dash to the water and Papyrus runs back out.

"TWO HUMANS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

I shove Frisk out of the way, thrusting the shell into her hands, and she sprints back to base. I'm not being captured again thank you very much. I try something, it's insane, mad, but I try it anyway. As Papyrus runs towards me, I sprint at him. I slide under his wide legs and run away.

"NYOO HOO HOO!" He grins. "YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!"

I salute him and make it back to the fort. We carry out our routine, supplying water and sand to each other while firing at the other base. We've managed to carve out a little hole in their front wall from the impact of the sandballs. For them to try and repair it would be stupid, they'd end up with a face full of sand. They're sprinting around frantically, dodging hits and lobbing sand. We retaliate.

"LOOK OUT!" Papyrus calls to Blooky as a sandball flies the gap and comes hurtling towards where he's standing.

It goes through him and hits Sans behind him. He looks to see that the thrower was me and I awkwardly hide behind the wall. He sends a few balls towards me and I duck a couple, my shoulder getting hit with the other. We notice that for a while, they don't retaliate. Some of them run out and in from the sea. We cautiously throw at them and get suspicious when we don't receive an equal attack from them. Suddenly, Papyrus yells

"FIRE!"

A massive ball of sand is thrown out of their fort and aimed (with a little magic help) straight through our little window. It breaks part of the window and smacks into the pillar. It sways, being thinned out by all the hits.

"RUN!" Alphys cries and we all sprint into the safe-house.

Asgore slams the slate over the doorway just as the ceiling collapses and slate rains over the remains of the fort. We lie huddled in the dark room, listening to the chaos of our base. The slate door of the room falls down and we see that most of the walls have toppled over and sharp stone covers the floor. That could've killed us if we hadn't thought to build a safe-room. We step cautiously out of the room.

"CHARGE!" Papyrus declares.

His team comes running towards us.

"SCATTER!" Frisk yells.

We run in all different directions and I end up legging it down towards the sea.

"Not so fast pet!" Sans laughs from behind me.

He catches up with me and grabs me by the back of my swimsuit. I let out a squeak as we topple to the floor. We fight for a little, aiming harmless punches and kicks at each other, before he pins me down and grins.

"I win."

I sigh and chuckle quietly. He leans over me and kisses my neck.

"You taste of sand and salt," he observes.

"Hm," My words are dripping with sarcasm. "I wonder why."

He smirks and plants another kiss on my cheek, then he moves to my lips. His warm mouth connects with mine and a sickly sweet feeling spreads through my brain.

"You belong to me pet," he tells me quietly. "Me, not another monster, not some idiot boys who don't know the meaning of 'hands off,' but me. Got it?"

I nod, it's a sweet thing to say but a tiny bit of me is slightly afraid of the threat. He smiles and kisses me again.

"Get a room!" Undyne yells. "Oh wait," she grins. "You do!"

I roll my eyes and give Sans a little push. He falls off of me, face in the sand, and I snigger. We stand up and brush ourselves off. I completely forgot about the scars on my wrists, is this what it feels like to be normal? Alphys could probably get rid of the scars, but my Dad used to say that only cowards are afraid of scars. We walk back to the picnic blanket and put our clothes back on. We pack up our stuff and make our way back out to the car park.

"Enjoyed your birthday?" Sans asks Papyrus.

"YOU BET!" He beams. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

I get in the skelebros' car to go back to their... our (I've got to get used to calling it my home) house. Papyrus drives a small red convertible, he passed his test after a hundred and forty six attempts. He's been driving for a year or so now and he's pretty good at it. We pull up in the driveway and I pick up my stuff. I put it in mine and Sans's room and take a shower. I can't stand the feeling of sand stuck between my toes. I put my clothes back on, leaving my costume to dry, and decide to have a nap; I'm exhausted.

"You always forget," Sans pokes his head in. "We sleep in my bed now."

I look down at the mattress I'm lying on and stand up. I slip under the covers of Sans's... _OUR_ bed.

"Happy now?" I ask.

"Overjoyed."


	31. A Mad World

**(The return of) Undernet**

 **DapperBlook: All around me are familiar faces.**

 **LegsSoHot: Worn out places, worn out faces.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: BRIGHT AND EARLY FOR THEIR DAILY RACES.**

 **PunMaster: going nowhere, going nowhere.**

 **Weeaboo: Their tears are filling up their glasses.**

 **StrongFish: No expression, no expression.**

 **FinchFace: Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow.**

 **FriskyPants: No tomorrow, no tomorrow.**

 **GoatMum: And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad.**

 **GoatDad: The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.**

 **DapperBlook: I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take.**

 **LegsSoHot: When people run in circles it's a very very.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: MAD WORLD, MAD WORLD.**

 **PunMaster: children waiting for the day, they feel good.**

 **Weeaboo: Happy birthday, happy birthday.**

 **StrongFish: Made to feel the way that every child should.**

 **FinchFace: Sit and listen, sit and listen.**

 **FriskyPants: Went to school and I was very nervous.**

 **GoatMum: No one knew me, no one knew me.**

 **GoatDad: Hello teacher, tell me what's my lesson.**

 **DapperBlook: Look right through me, look right through me.**

 **LegsSoHot: And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad.**

 **THEGREATPAPYRUS: THE DREAMS IN WHICH I'M DYING ARE THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD.**

 **PunMaster: i find it hard to tell you, i find it hard to take.**

 **Weeaboo: When people run in circles it's a very very.**

 **StrongFish: Mad world, mad world.**

 **FinchFace: Enlarge your world.**

 **FriskyPants: Mad world.**

 **...**

 **PunMaster: worth it.**

 **StrongFish: Hell yeah.**


	32. Sing Me To Sleep

**Finch POV**

I look back at my phone and smirk. That was completely necessary. I step around the kitchen, making a breakfast for Sans, Papyrus and I. Sans is having a lie-in and Papyrus is on a jog. I take some eggs from the fridge and grab the milk. I pour three large glasses. Sans used to have a glass of ketchup, but I made a compromise and instead he has ketchup on his breakfast and a glass of milk. I take out the pan and turn on a ring of the hob. I crack an egg and pour it in. I crack another one. I accidentally drop the shell into the pan.

"Damnit..." I mutter and reflexively begin to scratch at my wrists. "Stupid idiot..."

"Strike one," Sans teleports in front of me, making me jump, and takes my hand away from my wrist.

I forgot about the magic he put on my wrists. He teleports back to presumably his bed and I fish out the shell. I put it in the bin and wash my hands. I'm about to put the pan on the hob when suddenly there's a knock on the door. Probably Papyrus coming back from his jog. I open the door but Papyrus doesn't wait on the other side. Instead, a big man with tattoos on his arms leers at me. He holds the corpse of a dead little girl in his fists.

It's her.

What did they do to her?

I slam the door shut and sprint upstairs to Sans.

"S-S," I'm in hysterics.

I fall to my knees and he rushes over.

"What?" He takes my face in his hands. "What happened? Finch please tell me what happened. Finch, Finch! What happened?"

"He-" I pant. "They- she's- she's dead- I-"

Tears roll down my cheeks and I put my head on the floor.

"What-" he lifts my chin up. "Who? Who's dead? Finch!"

I'm in pieces on the floor, tears blind my vision and I can't breathe. I choke and weep, Sans lifts me to my feet.

"Ok, calm down," he looks into my eyes and strokes my hair. " _Calm... down..."_

I try to breathe. The girl, gone. It's my fault. I bet it's my fault.

" _Calm,"_ he stares me deep in the eyes.

I start to breath.

" _Down."_

I grab onto him for dear life and he embraces me.

"Now," He says softly. "Tell me, slowly, what happened."

"One of them, from the gang," I breathe. "They killed that little girl from the first time you saw me, they- _they killed her."_

I begin to panic and break down again.

"Calm down doll," he strokes me. "Ok, is he still out there?"

I nod.

"Ok, wait here," he pauses and looks at me with a downright terrifying expression on his face. "DON'T MOVE, CAPICHE?"

I nod, frightened, and stay rooted to the spot. Sans locks all the windows and doors, I hear him calling Papyrus, telling him to go back to Undyne's house. He shuts the blinds and turns off the hob. I dig my fingernails into my wrists. Wait...

"Strike two," He teleports back to me and takes my hand. "That's two in one day.

He leads me under the covers of his- _our_ bed and we huddle together in the darkness. An hour passes and I begin to think that I just imagined it. But then all the lights go out.

"Finch," he hisses. "Finch! Please wake up! No no no- don't go."

I open my eyes. His white pin pricks stare down at me. I must've passed out.

"You're awake," he sighs with relief. "I was starting to worry. Look, someone's here, in the house."

"Teleport us out!" I whisper.

"I- I can't," he looks frightened. "I'm too tired."

"You have to try," I beg. "Please."

He grimaces and sighs. He takes my hand and shuts his eyes. We teleport away. He's brought us to the old radio tower.

"Phew," I say. "That was- Sans?"

Sans is lying unconscious on the floor.

"Sans," I nudge him. "Please wake up, pretty please?" I sigh and pick him up.

He's heavy, for a skeleton, but light for a human. I carry him in my arms onto the old mattress. I stroke his skull and hum. I whisper an old lullaby my parents used to sing to me. It's an unnerving Russian one, but it's a solid brick of my childhood. I sing it in English and then in Russian.

" _Sleep sleep sleep._

 _Don't lie too close to the edge of the bed._

 _Or little grey wolf will come._

 _And grab you by the flank,_

 _drag you into the woods._

 _Underneath the willow root."_

I take a breath.

" _Son Son Son_

 _Ne lezhite slishkom blizko k krayu krovati_

 _Ili malen'kiy seryy volk pridet_

 _I skhvatit' tebya za flang,_

 _Peretashchite tebya v les."_

My mother only had a little bit of Russian blood in her, but she embraced it none the less. Russia, she told me, is a big thing to try and ignore. She didn't get around to teaching me Russian, just the odd phrase or word.

"Heh," he smiles. "I didn't know you could speak Russian."

"I can't," I admit.

"My energy's almost refuelled, there's only one thing that'll boost it any further."

"What's that?" I ask.

"A kiss from a kitten," he beckons me over. "Come here."

I smile shyly and kneel down beside him. The kiss is warm and laced with sweetness. He smiles and drags himself up.

"What do we do now?"

"We call the police," I take out my phone.

He dials **(whatever number you dial to reach the emergency service in your country. Here in the UK it's 999.)** and explains our situation. They agree to send help to go to both the house and the radio tower. There isn't much to do, the only things left in here are the old machinery and the mattress. I took the keyboard and everything else into... I feel selfish calling it my new house, it belongs to the skelebros. We wait for a while, but we hear movement down below us. Sans opens his mouth to speak but a deafening sound of blade cutting metal rings through the tower. It stays horribly.

"This way!" I yell at him.

He follows me out of the door, around the little balcony and onto a nearby tree. I bite back a yell as the station falls to the ground. People step out of the houses and some hopefully ring the police. Sans and I grip tightly onto the tree top, what have I brought into his life? Trouble follows me wherever I go, he could get hurt.

"When you have the strength..." I mutter through my teeth. "Teleport back to Undyne's. I'll be fine."

I slide down the trunk of the tree and he lets out an animal-like choke.

"Look who's come down to play!" One of the men grins maliciously.

"Look," I clench my hands into fists and snarl at the men. "What's your problem? Why do you have to go after me? What did I ever do to you that's somehow more offending than anyone else?" I glare and yell again. " _What's your problem?!"_

"You," one of the men points out. "A weak, delicate girl, thought you had the right to get your nose into our business."

"I stopped you from stabbing a child!" I refuse to cry. "And that worked out didn't it?"

"We don't appreciate sarcasm little girl," one of them growls. "We don't want to do anything we weren't planning to."

"So be it," I spit at his feet.

He steps back, disgusted, and charges towards me.

"WHO THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" He roars, grabbing my neck. "YOU ALWAYS PROTECT THOSE FREAKS, THOSE MONSTERS! IF YOU LOVE THEM SO MUCH, YOU WON'T OBJECT TO BEING ONE OF THEM!"

"I wish," I glare. "Sharing a species with assholes like you is embarrassing."

"Let's see who's embarrassed by the end of the day," he laughs coldly.

Two men grab my shoulders and march me to a man wearing white.

"This is the smart one," one of them explains. "He works in a lab, stupid job- always wasting time on saving lives- and so he has the resources to create this."

The man pulls out a syringe full of grey liquid.

"The hell is that?" I ask.

"Only one way to find out," he leers.

I punch one of the men in the jaw and run away.

 _Come on Finch. Remember everything you know about fighting._

 _If your arms are tired, use your legs._

I kick a pursuer across the abdomen and keep running.

 _If your knuckles are bruised, use your elbows._

I knock someone's tooth out as they swing blindly at me.

 _No sight, no fight._

I stumble to pick up a rock and sling it towards an eye. I don't wait around to see if it hits.

 _If you tuck your thumbs into your fists, they'll break._

I untuck my thumbs and sling a punch at someone. They grab my fist and drag me back.

 _A body part not used to fight back is a waste of a body part._

I flare and struggle with everything I have. Someone hits me hard in the stomach, the air is knocked out of me. I bite down on a hand covering my mouth. It slaps me. A man finds the scars on my wrists and trails a knife around them. I wince.

"Strike three-" Sans teleports to me but his eyes disappear as he watches the men hurt me. "You-" He starts to jog over. "You said you'd be fine! No no no- what are they doing to you? Hold on- let me help-"

His cries are silenced as a man grabs him from behind.

"Finch!" Is the last word he screams before the man covers his mouth.

"Sans..." I breathe.

The men shove me onto my feet and pin me down. I struggle but they're strong. What are they going to do? Heaven help me.

Anyone help me.

Mum! Help!

Dad! Help!

Please!

Please help me.

The scientist plunges the syringe into my neck and I scream out in agony. It's a pain like I've never felt before. The cold liquid rushes through my veins and my breathing quickens. Pain rips through my skin, death seems like an escape. I drop to my knees and choke up blood.

"You're welcome," the man smiles. "Consider it a gift, from Pandella," he winks. "Lots of love."

Their laughs and jeers stop dead in their tracks as the sound of police sirens echo into the forest. Two dozen police officers jump out pointing guns and tasers at the men.


	33. How Anime Can You Get?

**Sans POV**

"Come on doll," I say soothingly to Finch. "Come out."

"I can't," she replies quietly from the police bathroom stall.

"I'm not going to love you any less," I smile. "I don't care what they did to you."

"Promise?" She asks.

"I promise."

The door clicks reluctantly open. She has a pair of furry white ears on her head replacing her human ones and a white tail pokes out of her jeans. Whatever was in the syringe, it appears to have made her half wolf.

"Is it bad?" She asks nervously.

"No," I grin. "I'm so relieved, I was expecting something awful."

She smiles shyly. Her ears twitch.

"It feels kinda odd," she shrugs. "Better hearing and balance."

"Sorry that you're a monster now," I say. "Welcome to the freak show."

"Sans, you're not a freak," she frowns. "You're incredible and-" she breathes. "You're incredible and I love you. Besides, I think I'm more of a half human- half monster abomination rather than one or the other."

She paces and her tail swishes beside her. The white, furry ears and tail stand out against her black hair and dark clothing. Her pale skin matching them. The inside of the ears are made up of black fur to match her hair, the tip of her tail is back as well.

"Would you mind," I grin. "If I just mention how cute you look."

She blushes and glares.

"Now you're like the ultimate anime character!" I laugh.

She rolls her eyes. I notice that they're amber instead of their normal grey. They suit her even more.

"So," She says. "It really isn't bad?"

"You look awesome," I reassure her.

We step out of the bathrooms and back into the station. The room goes quiet at the sight of Finch's transformation. She ignores them and walks on by.

"You two may go back now," a police officer tells us. "Though, I understand that the radio station was destroyed. If you would like-"

"It's alright," she tells him. "I'm living somewhere else now."

"I see. I'm sure, if you wanted surgery to maybe make yourself look more human then we'd be happy to-"

"That's the last thing I want," she says coldly.

That's my girl! Aw, rebelling against society and fighting for flaming anarchy against a hierarchy. They grow up so fast. We leave the station, the police lost for words, and we get into Papyrus's car.

"HUMAN!" He exclaims. "WAIT, CAN I EVEN CALL YOU THAT ANYMORE? HM... WOLF HUMAN! I LIKE YOUR EARS! DO YOU HAVE A TAIL AS WELL?"

She nods.

"CAN I SEE?"

"Maybe we should wait until we get-"

"SHOW ME SHOW ME SHOW ME SHOW ME SHOW ME!" He bounces excitedly.

She sighs and swishes her tail. He squeals like a fangirl and we get into the car. Finch seems to be struggling to find a way to avoid sitting on her tail, I'm sure she'll get used to it. She looks pained, the chemicals in the serum must have some side effect. We get into the driveway and Papyrus leads us to the door.

"I WILL MAKE A FEAST FOR ALL OF OUR FRIENDS!"

He bounds away to the kitchen and I turn to Finch.

"Ok how much does it hurt?"

She grimaces.

"Quite a lot."

"Alph said that it'll sting for a few days, then it'll go away." I rub one of her ears between my fingers. "Want some painkillers?"

She nods and we head upstairs to the bathroom. I hand her an ibuprofen and she turns on the tap, drinking straight from it to wash down the pill. I wait until she's finished and put my hands on my hips.

"Tsk, drinking straight from the tap like an animal."

"Are you trying to be funny?" She raises her eyebrows.

I grab her, pinning back her arms, and grin.

"I'm completely sternum, I'm afraid you'll be coming with me to the pungeon."

She reflexively bites down on the arm covering her mouth. Her teeth are sharper than before, especially her canines.

"Aw," I pat her head. "Does the little doggy want a bone?" I lean down so we're at the same level and I wink. "Don't worry, you'll get your bone... _tonight."_

"Firstly," she blushes. "Half wolf, not half dog, and secondly, SANS!"

I laugh as she goes red and her ears go back.

"You're so cute when you blush," I smirk.

She stomps her foot and gives me a small punch, not knowing what else to do.

"You're such a tsundere," I grin. "Come on, give me a 'notice me sempai!'"

"What?" She folds her arms. "No!"

"Go on," I plead. "I'll stroke your tail or something if you do!"

She pauses, contemplating the offer.

"Fine."

I practically leap with joy.

She sighs.

"Notice me sempai!"

"YAY!"

I hug her and sit on the side of the bathtub. I take a comb and brush her tail. She twitches and sort of wolf-purrs, you know, that noise they make that isn't like a cat but still kind of like a cat? Like a badass cat? We're about to go downstairs to join Paps and wait for everyone to show up for the meal, but Finch sneezes the cutest sneeze known to the history of the Earth and stumbles back. She steps on my foot.

"Whoops," she apologises. "Sorry."

"Sorry what?" I ask.

"Sorry Sans?" She isn't sure what I'm looking for.

"Sorry sempai," I command her.

"Really," she looks unimpressed.

"Yup."

She sighs.

"Sorry sempai."

"Good girl."

We walk downstairs and sit at the dinner table. Whatever Papyrus is cooking smells good. Alphys and Undyne are gonna love how the serum made Finch turn out, they love anime and that kind of thing. Finch is the most anime of all anime, only to Undyne who will forever be the most anime of them all.

"HEYA PUNKS!" Undyne suplexes the door and bursts in.

Speak of the devil.


	34. AdorableANDHOTATTHESAMETIME

**Undyne POV**

"What's cooking?" I ask Papy.

"I HAVE BEEN PREPARING A FEAST WORTHY OF KING ASGORE HIMSELF!"

"Sounds nice," I turn to Sans. "How's kitten?"

I use his pet name for her to wind him up- what I do best- and he replies.

"She's alright, on some painkillers."

Papy came back to my house after his jog and I knew something was up. Sans called me up an hour later to tell me that Finch had been attacked (again) and some punk had injected her with a sort of punk serum that made her half monster. I've never been good at science ok? It's confusing as hell.

"Hi..." She shuffles into the room.

"Finch!" I gasp.

She has white and black wolf hears along with a tail of similar colour. She looks cute but fierce. It's cool as heck.

 **(How can someone be so adorable...**

 **AND HOT AT THE SAME TIME?!)**

"Don't freak out-" she looks panicky. "It might be bad, but-"

"Are ya kidding me?" I ask. "You look awesome! Man, bone boy over there is one lucky skeleton."

Sans glares at me and I finger gun him back.

"Hello," Alphys walks up to us.

"Hey babe," I smile.

"They said the gang had plans on mass-producing that serum," she looks at Finch. "The project's been shut down. The chemical essentially transfigures the subjects' genes to make them a monster. Lucky for you, it only made you half monster. It has different effects on different people, you're extremely fortunate to have turned out like this, I mean-" she waves her hands about. "You look great! Like, real life anime! I mean- it's real anyway..."

"Yeah it is," I grin and slap Alphys on the back.

She jumps and grins back, sweating. Soon the room is full of the crew. They all agree that Finch looks awesome. So I guess the plan backfired on that Pandilla gang, sort of. Finch doesn't look bad or anything, but she's gonna be subject to more monster-human abuse. She's a bit of an abomination, a crossbreed if you would. Whatever, some people hate anime but that doesn't stop it from being rad.

"THE MEAL IS SERVED!" Papy declares.

We all sit down and admire the array of meat, vegetables and many different types of pasta laid out before us. We dig in and exchange conversation.

"I was thinking of taking a trip back through the underground," Mettaton says casually. "For old times sake."

"Take us with you!" Frisk squeals.

"I'd love to see the underground," Finch pipes up. "It sounds so peaceful."

"That sounds like a splendid idea!" Asgore announces. "Let's do it tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" Just about everyone asks surprised.

"Yes!" He declares. "Why put it off? And as the kids these days say, YOLO!"

"Dad," Frisk frowns. "Literally no one says that anymore."

"Oh..." he says awkwardly. "Uh, does anyone have anything planned for tomorrow?"

No one answers.

"Tomorrow it is!" I beam.


	35. I'm Dying Of Kawaii

**Finch POV**

"Ready?" Sans asks from the other side of the door.

"I-" I mutter.

I look at myself in the mirror. I'm wearing my hair in a plait on my shoulder and I'm wearing that steampunk waistcoat. I cut a hole in my shorts for my tail to come through and I'm wearing tights underneath. I have my gothic shoes on and that clock locket. I decided to leave my wrist protectors. The first step to accepting yourself, right? My new wolf features are blatantly obvious to anyone looking at me. It makes me nervous.

"What is it kitten?" He opens the door and looks at my worried face. "What's up?"

"I-" I swallow. "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Not being accepted," I sigh, ashamed of myself. "I don't deserve to be a monster."

"Don't worry yourself," he cracks a joke. "The stress will make you go bald, like me."

"Heh..." I smile at the ground.

"Come on," he takes my hand. "Grab your coat and we'll be off."

"I-" I flush. "I don't have a coat."

He pauses, then texts on his phone.

"Wait here for literally two minutes," he says mysteriously.

We sit in awkward silence on the edge of the bed and suddenly Alphys comes climbing through the window. She clutches a coat and wields a pair of scissors. She does some snipping and then passes it to me. I put it on and Alphys squeals in delight. It's black with white lining on the zip, pockets, hood and sleeves. I pull the hood up. Alphys cut out two slits for my ears. I look like I was farted out of the word anime. It's pretty darn cool.

"Nya!" She squees and hops back out of the window.

"Welp..." Sans says. "That was easy."

"I'm in so much dept to you guys!" I stomp my foot.

"Nah," he shrugs. "She loves buying for you. Where does she even get all this weeaboo stuff?"

"Don't ask me."

We walk to the car. I shiver despite the heat, I'm so damn nervous.

 _Bad legs. Bad. Stop shaking. Legs! What did I just?- GOSH DARNIT LEGS!_

I stumble and Sans catches me.

"Do I have to carry you?" He sniggers.

"Shut up..." I grumble.

" _My girl's a dere, a tsundere,"_ he mutters a song that we've all memorised thanks to Alphys.

I take a swing at him with my fist. He catches it in his hand.

" _Just sayin hi gets me a punch in the face."_

I roll my eyes and open the car door.

"Uh Alphys?" Sans asks. "How are we all gonna fit?"

"We double up!" She declares.

"Isn't that a little dangero-" He starts.

"I SAW IT IN AN ANIME ONCE AND IT WAS CUTE!" She glares.

After ten minutes, we're all crammed like sardines in the car. Undyne is in the driver's seat, Alphys in the passenger seat, Toriel sitting on Asgore's lap in one of the back seats, Frisk sitting sorta inside of Napstablook in the middle back seat and I'm sitting on Sans's lap in the other back seat. We all strap in our seatbelts and mutter prayers for our safety.

"Which song do we play?" Undyne asks.

"PanicImagAtineTheDraTwentyoneDiscgPioloeonts!" Everyone's requests get kinda mashed together.

"Uh," she shuts her eyes and flicks the CD to a random song.

For once, I actually remember something from the ride except from

REMEMBER ME FOR CENTURIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

"Is there anything else about monsters I should know seeing as now I kinda am one?" I ask.

"We don't grow up," Alphys explains. "It's confusing, so, we start as babies, DON'T ASK ABOUT HOW WE REPRODUCE, I think I'll leave that to Sans when you get to that bridge..."

I blush and cover my face in my coat.

"And then we grow up until we get to a certain age, then we just don't get any older. So essentially, we live forever. Unless we're killed by another being. The age at which you stop growing at varies from person to person, I expect yours is now, so we stay at different ages."

"So some of us are young and beautiful like me whereas some are as old as Tori and Gori!" Undyne grins.

"I'm not _that_ old," Asgore smiles.

"You're four hundred and twenty darling," Toriel points out.

"So I'm gonna out-grow you all?" Frisk asks eagerly.

"In a sense," Alphys shrugs. "Technically we'll be older than you, but you'll out- _grow_ us if that's what you mean."

"Ok," I nod. "So I'm not going to get any older now?"

"No," Sans shakes his head. "But you're still like eighteen or nineteen or something, so not a bad age to stop at."

"How old did you stop at?" I ask him.

"I dunno," he shrugs. "But it isn't much older than you."

Anyway, so

REMEMBER ME FOR CENTURIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

"SQUEE!" Alphys grins. "MUSIC IS THE BEST! NYA!"

"I believe it's pronounced NGAAAAH!" Undyne shouts.

"I bet Finch could do it really cutely," Alphys turns back to me. "Come on! Be kawaii! Give us a nya!"

I sigh. I put my hands up like paws (you know, like every kawaii **(kawaii just autocorrected to lawsuit, I'm sad now :/ )** anime character ever) and bring forward the cutest 'nya' I can muster.

"ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ"

Everyone in the car squeals and tries to pet me.

"Do I look like a dog?" I back away.

"You kinda do," Sans points out.

I scowl and we all lurch forward as the car jerks.

"Whoops," Undyne grins. "Speed bump!"

We pull up next to a mountain and step out. One of Sans's shoes is caught in a belt loop of my shorts. It takes some awkward manoeuvres to untangle it. We climb the mountain and look down to see a staircase spiralling down a deep hole. We race each other down, much to the worry of responsible adults like Toriel, Asgore and Alphys. We reach the bottom and enter what Toriel calls The Ruins. They wave at the monsters who stayed underground, complimenting Froggits and consoling Whimsums. Frisk and Toriel share many stories of dogs stealing telephones and talking rocks. We progress to her old house.

"You... replicated our house in New Home..." Asgore's eyes water.

Toriel takes his hand and they enter the house. Frisk shows me her old bed and all her toys, she shows us the kitchen and the fireplace. I look through one of Toriel's drawer.

"Scandalous!" Sans exclaims from behind me. "That's Toriel's sock drawer!"

I snigger and stand up. We all group together and walk down a dark staircase. We walk out of the ruins and the floor becomes snow. I kneel down and scoop up a handful of it. I haven't seen snow for years, no wonder they told me I needed a coat. The pine forest is dark and chilling, branches lie shattered to pieces on the ground like they're nothing. I look around. A few people are visible in the misty air, but I feel like I'm all alone. Footsteps right behind me make me fling my head around. No one's there. A cold sweat starts to break on my forehead. More shuffling. I catch a glimpse of a figure. Still, no one there. I walk quickly onwards, my feet fanatically moving me onwards. Silence. A hand lands on my shoulder. I let out a small shriek and swing at the figure.

"Ack-" Sans puts a hand to his face.

"Oh my-" I cover my mouth. "I'm so sorry-"

"It's ok," he grins. "I shouldn't have spooked ya like that. Man, you hit pretty hard."

I clutch my hand, it's already beginning to swell up from the hard strike.

"Oh-" Toriel walks over. "It's alright my child, I will heal it. I can heal bruises and swelling, but I admit that cuts and gashes are beyond my skillset."

"Thanks," I feebly give her my hand and she heals it up.

"I AM PROUD OF YOUR SELF-DEFENCE SKILLS WOLF HUMAN!" Papyrus beams. "I HAVE TAUGHT YOU WELL!"

"You sure have," Sans winces, rubbing the spot where I hit him.

"You sure you're ok?" I ask.

"Yeah," a mischievous grin dances across his face. "Aww, is my little kitten worried about me?"

"Don't make me change my mind!" I glare.

"Really? Well-"

"ARRERGHDIUSNSNGOSHBFKADBAKFHJSNSNKFJAJSNCIAKCNAKDNNFJKSJDKNFJSKDNSNKSKFJJDJIEHWKAJDWIAK!2£83)-£/£:&16/8£,),7/8&2!/£/£&ハタハタさたら棚ハタハタの沙汰は荒波沢畠様ハラチラわた、マナマナや田渡なた早タナたまはりは、ハタハタら、マラマラ( %¥→^ 206481640965GHHHHH!" Alphys squeals. "KISS! KISS NOW!"

"Uh," I blush. "Isn't that a bit-"

Sans practically crushes my face against his. I let out a surprised squeak and Frisk giggles. I try to act aloof and cool when he explores my mouth with his ecto-tongue, kissing me until my face practically melts under his, but I can't stop my tail from wagging and my ears relaxing. When Sans releases me, everyone is grinning psychotically.

"Kinda freaking me out..." I mutter.

"You two NEED an anime," Undyne says somewhat threateningly.

"Let's pretend to make one now!" Frisk squeals.

"We'll do the theme! You two know the actions!" Alphys grins.

"How do we-" Sans starts.

"BAKU BAKU NYA NYA BAKU BAKU NYA NYA," everyone starts singing.

"Really," I sigh.

We reluctantly do the actions and anime actually feels real.

ฅ^TﻌT^ฅ ฅ^-ﻌ-^ฅ

 **(How did this story go from a badass surviving a stabbing to a wolf girl doing the actions to a kawaii song? Alphys is tainting me.)**

I cross my arms and glare at the floor. How do they keep managing to squeeze the anime out of me?

"One snowy day," Mettaton narrates. "The most tsundere of all tsunderes stands awkwardly displaying submissive body language."

My tail is tucked between my legs and my ears are flat against my head. I untuck them stubbornly and Mettaton sniggers.

"Just get on with the tour," I huff.

This makes Sans crack a smile.

"What's so funny?"

Everyone bursts into laughter.

"Oh kitten you're-" he clutches his sides. "You're too adorable. Ah, you're killing me."

"You're already dead," I point out.

We carry on the tour. They point out their house and Grillby's old place.

"Hey Sans," Undyne says after a while. "Now Finch is half wolf, doesn't that make you a furry?"

"Uh..." he ponders. "I dunno. But that means you're a necrophile!" He points to me. "And so are you!" He points to Mettaton. "And you're a paraphile!" He points to Papy. "And you're an aquaphile!" He points to Alphys. "And you're a ophidiophile!" He points to Undyne. "And Frisk is normal!"

We're all speechless and slightly concerned for his health.

"Never underestimate Google!" He declares.


	36. The Tour Continues

**Frisk POV**

We take Finch through the underground, lying on the floor and feeling like garbage at Napsta's old place, and soon enough we're at the remnants of the barrier. I fought Dad here, I still feel so bad. He begged me to kill him and send him back to his family. Guilt always seems to find me when I think about the first human that fell down here, I've sort of replaced them. Some say their ghost still lingers, it must feel awful, watching me take its place. Sans assures me that the first human doesn't deserve to be pitied. Something about resets. He was always depressed at the thought that everything could be reset, all our progress: gone. He remembers that one time I started a genocide run, my first ever run for that matter, I got as far as killing Papyrus before resetting and crying myself to sleep every night in Toriel's house in the pacifist route that ended in freedom and now we're here. He forgives me. I gave up the ability to reset, I didn't destroy it, but I hid it somewhere that not even Flowey could find and get his hands on. The power to reset lies in a mysterious looking room with a grey door. I was anxious to go past it on Finch's tour through the underground, but it's nowhere to be seen.

"Why would you give up life down here to live on the surface?" Finch asks.

"Well we wouldn't have met you if we didn't," Sans grins.

"But you didn't know that!" She goes on. "Up on the surface, there are so many bad people! Don't even get me started on the history, racism and slavery and the holocaust!"

I didn't really learn about any of that, but they sound awful.

"Humans used to enslave other humans?" Sans looks horrified.

"Humans are freaking awful!" She growls. "No offence Frisk, I mean, you're nice."

I give her a thumbs up and we progress back outside.

"What now?" Undyne asks.

"We go home," Alphys shrugs. "And see how things work out."


	37. An Ending

**Finch POV**

 **Two years in the future.**

"I know!" I laugh to Sans. "I'm so proud of her! And that speech she made in America! She travels more in a year than I do in my entire life!"

"Yeah," Sans chuckles. "Frisk sure is a special one. Not, might I add, as special as a certain wolf-human who landed herself a certain psychology course from some particularly non-racist people."

"That's specific," I smirk. "And it's not like I don't already know that, the bit about the psychology course I mean."

"But the reader doesn't," Sans points out.

"True," I wink at the reader, hoping that they don't mind the massive crack in the fourth wall.

"When's the meteor shower supposed to be?" He asks me.

We lie head to head, mirroring each other, on the hill by Toriel and Asgore's house, staring up at the sky. The stars are bright and it's a clear night. The radio said the meteor shower would be bold and beautiful. Sans loves the stars and I think the sky is cool too. Astrology is pretty interesting.

"Any minute now I guess," I shrug.

"It's like when the radio says there's gonna be snow," his head moves to the side. "But there's like two drops of frost."

"Yeah," I nod.

"It snowed loads in Snowdin."

"Never would've guessed."

"Hey!" He grins. "Sarcasm isn't funny."

"What about _star_ casm?" I wink.

"Good girl," he hugs me, proud of himself for transforming into a dweeb.

"And FYI," I add. "Sarcasm is always funny."

"You dork," he grins.

"How am I a dork?"

"Only dorks fall head over heals for skeletons," he pokes me in the head and I smile.

"Suppose I am a dork then."

"And I'm the lucky skeleton."

"No you're more of a-" I start.

"NO- WAIT!"

"Numskull."

"I TAKE IT BACK!"

"Bone head."

"MAKE IT STOP!"

"Alright alright," I laugh, and then add "nerd."

"Oh _I'm_ the nerd am I?" He rubs my head.

"Yup."

"Hey," he holds something to my face. "A four leaf clover."

"Really?" I look eagerly at the plant.

"Nah," he says. "I just ripped a leaf off of two three leaf ones and put them together."

"Skeledork," I roll my eyes.

"Oh my gosh look!" He points to the sky. "The meteor shower!"

I zip around and jump to my feet, staring at the sky.

"Where?" I ask.

I scan the sky but no meteors are raining past the stars.

"Liar," I sigh.

He got me there.

"Maybe not," he shrugs. "But, uh, you know, I wouldn't need a meteor shower to make me happy if..."

I turn back around and gasp. He's down on one knee, holding a box. He opens it to reveal a silver ring.

"If, uh," he blushes a blue colour and smiles. "If you agree to marry me."

I'm speechless. It feels like I should say something meaningful or romantic, but I just yell the first two words that come to my mind.

"Hell yeah!"

I grab him and pull him up onto his feet. I wrap my arms around his neck and he holds my stomach. As we kiss, I spot a meteor shooting through the sky in my peripheral vision. I point it out excitedly to him and we take our heads away to watch the beautiful shower of little lights. It's awesome. No wonder Sans is so obsessed with stars. I watch it with wide eyes and he grins, ruffling my hair and takes my hand. The shower finally stops and I avert my gaze back to him. He's sliding the ring onto my finger. It's a dusty silver colour, dark in the cracks and creases so it looks mysterious. It's created to look like it's made up of little bones, wrapping around my finger. Sans beams at it and I stroke the side of his skull.

"Thank you so much Sans," I smile.

" _Snow_ problem," he winks.

"What does snow have to do with this?"

"Who snows?"

"Sans you dork," I giggle.

We spend an hour racing each other down the hill. We roll down quickly, getting grass stains on our jeans, drunk off of the night air.

"I win, again," he declares as we stand up.

"You cheat!" I brush myself off. "You pushed me!"

"I merely gave you a little nudge," he grins. "Besides, has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you're mad?"

"Shut up!" I huff as we make our way back up the hill for a rematch.

"Ready, set, go!" He shouts.

We set off. I roll in a straight line, narrowly dodging a rock on the way down, and I overtake him. Could this be happening? Could I beat him?! I keep my body completely still, relying on gravity to pull me down, and the idea of winning makes me all the more determined to keep going. I tuck in my tail and fold my ears. Almost...

there...

"I wi-" I start to announce as I come to the bottom of the hill.

He bumps into me and we end up rolling the last bit in a tangled heap. We come to a halt, I lie on top of Sans. One of my legs is tangled with his, a button of my shirt somehow hooked on one of his ribs under his jacket. We take a moment to untangle ourselves and just lie down for a while.

"I could watch you for hours," he stares up at me. "You like it up there?"

I nod happily. A few minutes pass and we decide to head back home. I can't wait to tell Alphys, Undyne and Mettaton about how he proposed to me. I'm never going to deserve him.

"You gonna teleport us home?" I ask.

"Nah," he tucks a strand of hair behind one of my ears, rubbing the other one in between the fingers of his other hand. "I like the view too much."

"I'm out of ways to say dork," I smirk.

We walk home in the dark, clutching each other for warmth. The nights are getting colder now that winter is coming. All the more excuse to cuddle him.

"You know," he says after a while. "You're a very unusual person Finch."

"I noticed," I laugh.

"It's the good sort of unusual," he nods.

"Well then you're an unusual person too."

"Not as unusual as you."

"You're far more unusual than I am!" I snigger.

"I'm not an unusual person," he frowns.

"Why not?"

"I'm not even a person."

"Doesn't stop you from being unusual."

"Let's just say we're both unusual and call it a day," he smirks.

"Yeah," I smile. "We're unusual people." **(Roll credits.)**

 **-End-**

 **Awkward authors note alert**

 **Ok, let me fangirl for a little. I loved writing this story, it's the first one that I ever wrote specifically to be read. My other ones were only really for me, I wasn't going to post them or anything. I have about twenty other completed stories in the notes section of my phone, all too cringey to ever see the light of day. This thing has like, four favourites and two thousand views or something crazy like that. It may look like a tiny achievement, but every time I see a view or a favourite or something, a tiny Sans does a dance in my head. Views don't even mean you like the story, for all I know, you might just click on the story and think 'this is trash in writing form,' but I still get joy at seeing them. In short, seeing your favourites and even just the views on this trashy story makes a trashy girl feel trashily happy. A big trashy thanks to all of you. The tiny Sans in my head says hi btw.**


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